Facilities Production Facilities Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000. Sand 2011-4582P. ENERGY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF Gamma Irradiation Facility (GIF) The GIF provides test cells for the irradiation of experiments with high-intensity gamma ray sources. The main features

This document reports the results of a Feasibility Study sponsored by a TDA grant to Zaporozhye NuclearPower Plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine to study the construction of storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel. It provides pertinent information to U.S. companies interested in marketing spent fuel storage technology and related business to countries of the former Soviet Union or Eastern Europe.

US Nuclear Warhead Facility Profiles is the third volume of the Nuclear Weapons Databook, a series published by the Natural Resources Defense Council. This volume reviews the different facilities in the US nuclear warhead complex. Because of the linkage between nuclear energy and nuclear weapons, the authors cover not only those facilities associated mainly with nuclearpower research, but also those well known for weapons development. They are: the Argonne National Laboratory; the Hanford Reservation; the Oak Ridge National Laboratory; the Pantex plant; the Los Alamos Test Site; the Rocky Flats plant; the Sandia National Laboratories; and a host of others. Information on each facility is organized into a standard format that makes the book easy to use. The reader will find precise information ranging from a facility's address to its mission, management, establishment, budget, and staff. An additional, more in-depth presentation covers the activities and technical process of each facility. Maps, pictures, and figures complement the text.

A considerable amount of dry radioactive waste from former NPP operation has accumulated up to date and is presently stored at the Ignalina NPP site, Lithuania. Current storage capacities are nearly exhausted and more waste is to come from future decommissioning of the two RMBKtype reactors. Additionally, the existing storage facilities does not comply to the state-of-the-art technology for handling and storage of radioactive waste. In 2005, INPP faced this situation of a need for waste processing and subsequent interim storage of these wastes by contracting NUKEM with the design, construction, installation and commissioning of new waste management and storage facilities. The subject of this paper is to describe the scope and the status of the new solid waste management and storage facilities at the Ignalina NuclearPower Plant. In summary: The turnkey contract for the design, supply and commission of the SWMSF was awarded in December 2005. The realisation of the project was initially planned within 48 month. The basic design was finished in August 2007 and the Technical Design Documentation and Preliminary Safety Analyses Report was provided to Authorities in October 2007. The construction license is expected in July 2008. The procurement phase was started in August 2007, start of onsite activities is expected in November 2007. The start of operation of the SWMSF is scheduled for end of 2009. (authors)

This report summarizes the occupational radiation exposure information that has been reported to the NRC`s Radiation Exposure Information Reporting System (REIRS) by nuclearpowerfacilities and certain other categories of NRC licensees during the years 1969 through 1992. The bulk of the data presented in the report was obtained from annual radiation exposure reports submitted in accordance with the requirements of 10CFR20.407 and the technical specifications of nuclearpower plants. Data on workers terminating their employment at certain NRC licensed facilities were obtained from reports submitted pursuant to 10CFR20.408. The 1992 annual reports submitted by about 364 licensees indicated that approximately 204,365 individuals were monitored, 183,927 of whom were monitored by nuclearpowerfacilities. They incurred an average individual dose of 0.16 rem (cSv) and an average measurable dose of about 0.30 (cSv). Termination radiation exposure reports were analyzed to reveal that about 74,566 individuals completed their employment with one or more of the 364 covered licensees during 1992. Some 71,846 of these individuals terminated from power reactor facilities, and about 9,724 of them were considered to be transient workers who received an average dose of 0.50 rem (cSv).

Defense NuclearFacility NNSA's safety office accredited and recognized for leadership in safe operation of defense nuclearfacilities Part of NNSA's commitment to maintaining the nation's safe, secure, and effective nuclear deterrent are relentlessly high standards for technically capable nuclear enterprise personnel qualifications for all aspects of Defense NuclearFacility operations. In December 2015, the Department of Energy

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research

2009-12-01

This report summarizes the occupational exposure data that are maintained in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Radiation Exposure Information and Reporting System (REIRS). The bulk of the information contained in the report was compiled from the 2008 annual reports submitted by five of the seven categories1 of NRC licensees subject to the reporting requirements of 10 CFR 20.2206. The annual reports submitted by these licensees consist of radiation exposure records for each monitored individual. These records are analyzed for trends and presented in this report in terms of collective dose and the distribution of dose among the monitored individuals. Because there are no geologic repositories for high-level waste currently licensed and no low-level waste disposal facilities in operation, only five categories will be considered in this report.

This report documents state-of-the-art methods, tools, and data for the conduct of a fire Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) for a commercial nuclearpower plant (NPP) application. The methods have been developed under the Fire Risk Re-quantification Study. This study was conducted as a joint activity between EPRI and the U. S. NRC Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) under the terms of an EPRI/RES Memorandum of Understanding [RS.1] and an accompanying Fire Research Addendum [RS.2]. Industry participants supported demonstration analyses and provided peer review of this methodology. The documented methods are intended to support future applications of Fire PRA, including risk-informed regulatory applications. The documented method reflects state-of-the-art fire risk analysis approaches. The primary objective of the Fire Risk Study was to consolidate recent research and development activities into a single state-of-the-art fire PRA analysis methodology. Methodological issues raised in past fire risk analyses, including the Individual Plant Examination of External Events (IPEEE) fire analyses, have been addressed to the extent allowed by the current state-of-the-art and the overall project scope. Methodological debates were resolved through a consensus process between experts representing both EPRI and RES. The consensus process included a provision whereby each major party (EPRI and RES) could maintain differing technical positions if consensus could not be reached. No cases were encountered where this provision was invoked. While the primary objective of the project was to consolidate existing state-of-the-art methods, in many areas, the newly documented methods represent a significant advancement over previously documented methods. In several areas, this project has, in fact, developed new methods and approaches. Such advances typically relate to areas of past methodological debate.

A section of Appendix C to DOE G 226.1-2 "Federal Line Management Oversight of Department of Energy NuclearFacilities." Consists of Criteria Review and Approach Documents (CRADs) that can be used for assessment of a contractor's NuclearFacility Safety Basis.

A section of Appendix C to DOE G 226.1-2 "Federal Line Management Oversight of Department of Energy NuclearFacilities." Consists of Criteria Review and Approach Documents (CRADs) that can be used for assessment of a contractor's NuclearFacility Design.

This report summarizes the occupational exposure data that are maintained in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commissionâ€™s (NRC) Radiation Exposure Information and Reporting System (REIRS). The bulk of the information contained in the report was compiled from the 2010 annual reports submitted by five of the seven categories of NRC licensees subject to the reporting requirements of 10 CFR 20.2206. Because there are no geologic repositories for high-level waste currently licensed and no NRC-licensed low-level waste disposal facilities currently in operation, only five categories will be considered in this report. The annual reports submitted by these licensees consist of radiation exposure records for each monitored individual. These records are analyzed for trends and presented in this report in terms of collective dose and the distribution of dose among the monitored individuals. Annual reports for 2010 were received from a total of 190 NRC licensees. The summation of reports submitted by the 190 licensees indicated that 192,424 individuals were monitored, 81,961 of whom received a measurable dose. When adjusted for transient workers who worked at more than one licensee during the year, there were actually 142,471 monitored individuals and 62,782 who received a measurable dose. The collective dose incurred by these individuals was 10,617 person-rem, which represents a 12% decrease from the 2009 value. This decrease was primarily due to the decrease in collective dose at commercial nuclearpower reactors, as well as a decrease in the collective dose for most of the other categories of NRC licensees. The number of individuals receiving a measurable dose also decreased, resulting in an average measurable dose of 0.13 rem for 2010. The average measurable dose is defined as the total effective dose equivalent (TEDE) divided by the number of individuals receiving a measurable dose. In calendar year 2010, the average annual collective dose per reactor for light water reactor

This standard establishes fundamental requirements and guidance for backup power sources at DOE facilities. Purpose is to document good engineering practices for installation, testing, and maintenance of these backup power sources, which also covers emergency power sources. Examples are those which supply power to nuclear safety systems, radiation monitors and alarms, fire protection systems, security systems, and emergency lighting.

In support of technology development to utilize coal for efficient, affordable, and environmentally clean power generation, the Power Systems Development Facility (PSDF), located in Wilsonville, Alabama, has routinely demonstrated gasification technologies using various types of coals. The PSDF is an engineering scale demonstration of key features of advanced coal-fired power systems, including a Transport Gasifier, a hot gas particulate control device, advanced syngas cleanup systems, and high-pressure solids handling systems. This final report summarizes the results of the technology development work conducted at the PSDF through January 31, 2009. Twenty-one major gasification test campaigns were completed, for a total of more than 11,000 hours of gasification operation. This operational experience has led to significant advancements in gasification technologies.

This report discusses Test Campaign TC12 of the Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc. (KBR) Transport Gasifier train with a Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation (SW) particle filter system at the Power Systems Development Facility (PSDF) located in Wilsonville, Alabama. The Transport Gasifier is an advanced circulating fluidized-bed reactor designed to operate as either a combustor or a gasifier using a particulate control device (PCD). While operating as a gasifier, either air or oxygen can be used as the oxidant. Test run TC12 began on May 16, 2003, with the startup of the main air compressor and the lighting of the gasifier start-up burner. The Transport Gasifier operated until May 24, 2003, when a scheduled outage occurred to allow maintenance crews to install the fuel cell test unit and modify the gas clean-up system. On June 18, 2003, the test run resumed when operations relit the start-up burner, and testing continued until the scheduled end of the run on July 14, 2003. TC12 had a total of 733 hours using Powder River Basin (PRB) subbituminous coal. Over the course of the entire test run, gasifier temperatures varied between 1,675 and 1,850 F at pressures from 130 to 210 psig.

The purpose of DOE Handbook, Establishing NuclearFacility Drill Programs, is to provide DOE contractor organizations with guidance for development or modification of drill programs that both train on and evaluate facility training and procedures dealing with a variety of abnormal and emergency operating situations likely to occur at a facility. The handbook focuses on conducting drills as part of a training and qualification program (typically within a single facility), and is not intended to included responses of personnel beyond the site boundary, e.g. Local or State Emergency Management, Law Enforcement, etc. Each facility is expected to develop its own facility specific scenarios, and should not limit them to equipment failures but should include personnel injuries and other likely events. A well-developed and consistently administered drill program can effectively provide training and evaluation of facility operating personnel in controlling abnormal and emergency operating situations. To ensure the drills are meeting their intended purpose they should have evaluation criteria for evaluating the knowledge and skills of the facility operating personnel. Training and evaluation of staff skills and knowledge such as component and system interrelationship, reasoning and judgment, team interactions, and communications can be accomplished with drills. The appendices to this Handbook contain both models and additional guidance for establishing drill programs at the Department`s nuclearfacilities.

This paper describes the results of a joint research investigations carried out by the group of Kazakhstan, British and American specialists in development of a new material for immobilization of radioactive 35% sodium hydroxide solutions from the sodium coolant processing facility of the BN-350 nuclearpower plant. The resulting solid matrix product, termed geo-cement stone, is capable of isolating long lived radionuclides from the environment. The physico-mechanical properties of geo-cement stone have been investigated and the flow chart for its production verified in a full scale experiments. (author)

Facility Risk Ranking NuclearFacility Risk Ranking NuclearFacility Risk Ranking The CNS has purview of over ninety EM nuclearfacilities across the DOE complex. To ensure that limited resources are applied in a risk-informed and balanced approach, the CNS performed a methodical assessment of the EM nuclearfacilities. This risk-informed approach provides a data-driven foundation on which to construct a balanced set of operating plans and staff assignments. 2015 Risk Analysis Methodology.jpg

There has been significant progress in the development of high-powerfacilities in recent years yet major challenges remain. The task of WG4 was to identify which facilities were capable of addressing the outstanding R&D issues presently preventing high-power operation. To this end, information from each of the facilities represented at the workshop was tabulated and the results are presented herein. A brief description of the major challenges is given, but the detailed elaboration can be found in the other three working group summaries.

This report presents the status at the end of 1989 and the outlook for commercial nuclear capacity and generation for all countries in the world with free market economies (FME). The report provides documentation of the US nuclear capacity and generation projections through 2030. The long-term projections of US nuclear capacity and generation are provided to the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) for use in estimating nuclear waste fund revenues and to aid in planning the disposal of nuclear waste. These projections also support the Energy Information Administration's annual report, Domestic Uranium Mining and Milling Industry: Viability Assessment, and are provided to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The foreign nuclear capacity projections are used by the DOE uranium enrichment program in assessing potential markets for future enrichment contracts. The two major sections of this report discuss US and foreign commercial nuclearpower. The US section (Chapters 2 and 3) deals with (1) the status of nuclearpower as of the end of 1989; (2) projections of nuclear capacity and generation at 5-year intervals from 1990 through 2030; and (3) a discussion of institutional and technical issues that affect nuclearpower. The nuclear capacity projections are discussed in terms of two projection periods: the intermediate term through 2010 and the long term through 2030. A No New Orders case is presented for each of the projection periods, as well as Lower Reference and Upper Reference cases. 5 figs., 30 tabs.

A radiation facility is designed for irradiating samples in close proximity to the core of a nuclear reactor. The facility comprises essentially a tubular member extending through the biological shield of the reactor and containing a manipulatable rod having the sample carrier at its inner end, the carrier being longitudinally movable from a position in close proximity to the reactor core to a position between the inner and outer faces of the shield. Shield plugs are provided within the tubular member to prevent direct radiation from the core emanating therethrough. In this device, samples may be inserted or removed during normal operation of the reactor without exposing personnel to direct radiation from the reactor core. A storage chamber is also provided within the radiation facility to contain an irradiated sample during the period of time required to reduce the radioactivity enough to permit removal of the sample for external handling. (AEC)

A nuclearpower plant for use in an airless environment or other environment in which cooling is difficult is described. The power plant includes a boiling mercury reactor, a mercury--vapor turbine in direct cycle therewith, and a radiator for condensing mercury vapor. (AEC)

This report summarizes the occupational exposure data that are maintained in the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission`s (NRC) Radiation Exposure Information and Reporting System (REIRS). The bulk of the information contained in the report was compiled from the 1996 annual reports submitted by six of the seven categories of NRC licensees subject to the reporting requirements of 10 CFR 20.2206. Since there are no geologic repositories for high level waste currently licensed, only six categories will be considered in this report. Annual reports for 1996 were received from a total of 300 NRC licensees, of which 109 were operators of nuclearpower reactors in commercial operation. Compilations of the reports submitted by the 300 licensees indicated that 138,310 individuals were monitored, 75,139 of whom received a measurable dose. The collective dose incurred by these individuals was 21,755 person-cSv (person-rem){sup 2} which represents a 13% decrease from the 1995 value. The number of workers receiving a measurable dose also decreased, resulting in the average measurable dose of 0.29 cSv (rem) for 1996. The average measurable dose is defined to be the total collective dose (TEDE) divided by the number of workers receiving a measurable dose. These figures have been adjusted to account for transient reactor workers. Analyses of transient worker data indicate that 22,348 individuals completed work assignments at two or more licensees during the monitoring year. The dose distributions are adjusted each year to account for the duplicate reporting of transient workers by multiple licensees. In 1996, the average measurable dose calculated from reported was 0.24 cSv (rem). The corrected dose distribution resulted in an average measurable dose of 0.29 cSv (rem).

This report summarizes the occupational exposure data that are maintained in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission`s (NRC) Radiation Exposure Information and Reporting System (REIRS). Annual reports for 1994 were received from a total of 303 NRC licensees, of which 109 were operators of nuclearpower reactors in commercial operation. Compilations of the reports submitted by the 303 licensees indicated that 152,028 individuals were monitored, 79,780 of whom received a measurable dose. The collective dose incurred by these individuals was 24,740 person-cSv (person-rem){sup 2} which represents a 15% decrease from the 1993 value. The number of workers receiving a measurable dose also decreased, resulting in the average measurable dose of 0.31 cSv (rem) for 1994. The average measurable dose is defined to be the total collective dose (TEDE) divided by the number of workers receiving a measurable dose. These figures have been adjusted to account for transient reactor workers. In 1994, the annual collective dose per reactor for light water reactor licensees (LWRs) was 198 person-cSv (person-rem). This represents a 18% decrease from the 1993 value of 242 person-cSv (person-rem). The annual collective dose per reactor for boiling water reactors (BWRs) was 327 person-cSv (person-rem) and, for pressurized water reactors (PWRs), it was 131 person-cSv (person-rem). Analyses of transient worker data indicate that 18,178 individuals completed work assignments at two or more licensees during the monitoring year. The dose distributions are adjusted each year to account for the duplicate reporting of transient workers by multiple licensees. In 1994, the average measurable dose calculated from reported data was 0.28 cSv (rem). The corrected dose distribution resulted in an average measurable dose of 0.31 cSv (rem).

Z-Machine About Z Z Research Z News Contact Us Facebook Twitter YouTube Flickr RSS Z-Machine Z Pulsed PowerFacility Science serving the nation Created to validate nuclear weapons models, the Z machine is also in the race for viable fusion energy. Z-Machine From Earth's Core to Black Holes Contributing to discovery science by studying matter at conditions found nowhere else on Earth Center of Z About Z Sandia's Z machine is the world's most powerful and efficient laboratory radiation source. It

The introduction of wireless technology into a government site where nuclear material is processed and stored brings new meaning to the term ''harsh environment''. At SRNL, we are attempting to address not only the harsh RF and harsh physical environment common to industrial facilities, but also the ''harsh'' regulatory environment necessitated by the nature of the business at our site. We will discuss our concepts, processes, and expected outcomes in our attempts to surmount the roadblocks and reap the benefits of wireless in our ''factory''.

The AFL-CIO is officially pro-nuclear, but tensions within unions are taking issue over ideological differences. The Labor movement, having looked to nuclearpower development as an economic necessity to avoid unemployment, has opposed efforts to delay construction or close plants. As many as 42% of union members or relatives of members, however, were found to oppose new power plants, some actively working against specific construction projects. The United Mine Workers and Teamsters actively challenged the nuclear industry while the auto workers have been ambivalent. The differences between union orientation reflects the history of unionism in the US and explains the emergence of social unionism with its emphasis on safety and working conditions as well as economic benefits. Business union orientation trends to prevail during periods of prosperity; social unions during recessions. The labor unions and the environmentalists are examined in this conext and found to be hopeful. 35 references. (DCK)

To establish the requirements for the Department of Energy, including the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), for start up of new nuclearfacilities and for the restart of existing nuclearfacilities that have been shut down. Cancels DOE O 425.1A. Canceled by DOE O 425.1C.

To establish the requirements for the Department of Energy, including the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), for start up of new nuclearfacilities and for the restart of existing nuclearfacilities that have been shut down. Cancels DOE 5480.31. Canceled by DOE O 425.1A.

To establish the requirements for the Department of Energy, including the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), for start up of new nuclearfacilities and for the restart of existing nuclearfacilities that have been shut down. Cancels DOE O 425.1B. Canceled by DOE O 425.1D

The NuclearFacilities and Applied Technologies organization at Sandia National Laboratories’ Technical Area Five (TA-V) is the leader in advancing nuclear technologies through applied radiation science and unique nuclear environments. This video describes the organization’s capabilities, facilities, and culture.

The deactivation of a power plant, be it nuclear or fossil fueled, requires that the facility be placed in a safe and stable condition to prevent unacceptable exposure of the public or the environment to hazardous materials until the facility can be decommissioned. The conditions at two Texas plants are examined. These plants are fossil fueled, but their conditions might be duplicated at a nuclear plant.

This paper was prepared as an input to ORNL's Strategic Planning Activity, ORNL National Energy Perspective (ONEP). It is intended to provide historical background on nuclearpower, an analysis of the mission of nuclearpower, a discussion of the issues, the technology choices, and the suggestion of a strategy for encouraging further growth of nuclearpower.

4. NATURE OF PROBLEM SOLVED FIRAC predicts fire-induced flows, thermal and material transport, and radioactive and nonradioactive source terms in a ventilation system. It is designed to predict the radioactive and nonradioactive source terms that lead to gas dynamic, material transport, and heat transfer transients. FIRAC's capabilities are directed toward nuclear fuel cycle facilities and the primary release pathway, the ventilation system. However, it is applicable to other facilities and can be used to modelmoreÂ Â» other airflow pathways within a structure. The basic material transport capability of FIRAC includes estimates of entrainment, convection, deposition, and filtration of material. The interrelated effects of filter plugging, heat transfer, and gas dynamics are also simulated. A ventilation system model includes elements such as filters, dampers, ducts, and blowers connected at nodal points to form networks. A zone-type compartment fire model is incorporated to simulate fire-induced transients within a facility. 5. METHOD OF SOLUTION FIRAC solves one-dimensional, lumped-parameter, compressible flow equations by an implicit numerical scheme. The lumped-parameter method is the basic formulation that describes the gas dynamics system. No spatial distribution of parameters is considered in this approach, but an effect of spatial distribution can be approximated by noding. Network theory, using the lumped parameter method, includes a number of system elements, called branches, joined at certain points, called nodes. Ventilation system components that exhibit flow resistance and inertia, such as dampers, ducts, valves, and filters, and those that exhibit flow potential, such as blowers, are located within the branches of the system. The connection points of branches are nodes for components that have finite volumes, such as rooms, gloveboxes, and plenums, and for boundaries where the volume is practically infinite. All internal nodes, therefore, possess some

This report summarizes the occupational exposure data that are maintained in the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission`s (NRC) Radiation Exposure Information and Reporting System (REIRS). The bulk of the information contained in the report was compiled from the 1995 annual reports submitted by six of the seven categories of NRC licensees subject to the reporting requirements of 10 CFR 20.2206. Since there are no geologic repositories for high-level waste currently licensed, only six categories will be considered in this report. In 1995, the annual collective dose per reactor for light water reactor licensees (LWRs) was 199 person-cSv (person-rem). This is the same value that was reported for 1994. The annual collective dose per reactor for boiling water reactors (BWRs) was 256 person-cSv (person-rem) and, for pressurized water reactors (PWRs), it was 170 person-cSv (person-rem). Analyses of transient worker data indicate that 17,153 individuals completed work assignments at two or more licensees during the monitoring year. The dose distributions are adjusted each year to account for the duplicate reporting of transient workers by multiple licensees. In 1995, the average measurable dose calculated from reported data was 0.26 cSv (rem). The corrected dose distribution resulted in an average measurable dose of 0.32 cSv (rem).

Topics discussed in this report include: nuclear utility organization; before the Florida Public Service Commission in re: St. Lucie Unit No. 2 cost recovery; nuclear reliability improvement and safety operations; nuclear utility management; training of nuclearfacility personnel; US experience in key areas of nuclear safety; the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission - function and process; regulatory considerations of the risk of nuclearpower plants; overview of the processes of reliability and risk management; management significance of risk analysis; international and domestic institutional issues for peaceful nuclear uses; the role of the Institute of NuclearPower Operations (INPO); and nuclear safety activities of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Full text of publication follows: ensuring safety during all stages of facility life cycle is a widely recognised responsibility of the operators, implemented under the supervision of the regulatory body and other competent authorities. As the majority of the facilities worldwide are still in operation or shutdown, there is no substantial experience in decommissioning and evaluation of safety during decommissioning in majority of Member States. The need for cooperation and exchange of experience and good practices on ensuring and evaluating safety of decommissioning was one of the outcomes of the Berlin conference in 2002. On this basis during the last three years IAEA initiated a number of international projects that can assist countries, in particular small countries with limited resources. The main IAEA international projects addressing safety during decommissioning are: (i) DeSa Project on Evaluation and Demonstration of Safety during Decommissioning; (ii) R{sup 2}D{sup 2}P project on Research Reactors Decommissioning Demonstration Project; and (iii) Project on Evaluation and Decommissioning of Former Facilities that used Radioactive Material in Iraq. This paper focuses on the DeSa Project activities on (i) development of a harmonised methodology for safety assessment for decommissioning; (ii) development of a procedure for review of safety assessments; (iii) development of recommendations on application of the graded approach to the performance and review of safety assessments; and (iv) application of the methodology and procedure to the selected real facilities with different complexities and hazard potentials (a nuclearpower plant, a research reactor and a nuclear laboratory). The paper also outlines the DeSa Project outcomes and planned follow-up activities. It also summarises the main objectives and activities of the Iraq Project and introduces the R{sup 2}D{sup 2} Project, which is a subject of a complementary paper.

A homogeneous nuclearpower reactor utilizing forced circulation of the liquid fuel is described. The reactor does not require fuel handling outside of the reactor vessel during any normal operation including complete shutdown to room temperature, the reactor being selfregulating under extreme operating conditions and controlled by the thermal expansion of the liquid fuel. The liquid fuel utilized is a uranium, phosphoric acid, and water solution which requires no gus exhaust system or independent gas recombining system, thereby eliminating the handling of radioiytic gas.

Recently there has been a lot of interest in small modular reactors. A specific type of these small modular reactors (SMR,) are marine based power plants called floating nuclearpower plants (FNPP). These FNPPs are typically built by countries with extensive knowledge of nuclear energy, such as Russia, France, China and the US. These FNPPs are built in one country and then sent to countries in need of power and/or seawater desalination. Fifteen countries have expressed interest in acquiring such power stations. Some designs for such power stations are briefly summarized. Several different avenues for cooperation in FNPP technology are proposed, including IAEA nuclear security (i.e. safeguards), multilateral or bilateral agreements, and working with Russian design that incorporates nuclear safeguards for IAEA inspections in non-nuclear weapons states

Hydrogen and oxygen generation due to the radiolysis of water is a recognized hazard in pipe systems used in the nuclear industry, where the accumulation of hydrogen and oxygen at high points in the pipe system is expected, and explosive conditions exist. Pipe ruptures at nuclearfacilities were attributed to hydrogen explosions inside pipelines, in nuclearfacilities, i.e., Hamaoka, NuclearPower Station in Japan, and Brunsbuettel in Germany. Prior to these accidents an ignition source for hydrogen was questionable, but these accidents, demonstrated that a mechanism was, in fact, available to initiate combustion and explosion. Hydrogen explosions may occur simultaneously with water hammer accidents in nuclearfacilities, and a theoretical mechanism to relate water hammer to hydrogen deflagrations and explosions is presented herein.

The Office of Nuclear Safety Basis & Facility Design establishes safety basis and facility design requirements and expectations related to analysis and design of nuclearfacilities to ensure protection of workers and the public from the hazards associated with nuclear operations.

With partial funding from the Department of Energy (DOE) University Reactor Instrumentation Program several laboratory instruments utilized by students and researchers at the WPI Nuclear Reactor Facility have been upgraded or replaced. Designed and built by General Electric in 1959, the open pool nuclear training reactor at WPI was one of the first such facilities in the nation located on a university campus. Devoted to undergraduate use, the reactor and its related facilities have been since used to train two generations of nuclear engineers and scientists for the nuclear industry. The low power output of the reactor and an ergonomic facility design make it an ideal tool for undergraduate nuclear engineering education and other training. The reactor, its control system, and the associate laboratory equipment are all located in the same room. Over the years, several important milestones have taken place at the WPI reactor. In 1969, the reactor power level was upgraded from 1 kW to 10 kW. The reactor`s Nuclear Regulatory Commission operating license was renewed for 20 years in 1983. In 1988, under DOE Grant No. DE-FG07-86ER75271, the reactor was converted to low-enriched uranium fuel. In 1992, again with partial funding from DOE (Grant No. DE-FG02-90ER12982), the original control console was replaced.

Some 12 components of a valid study of the competitive economics of a newly ordered nuclearpower plant are identified and explicated. These are then used to adjust the original cost projections of four authoritative studies of nuclear and coal power economics.

Operations NuclearFacility Operations INL is a science-based, applied engineering national laboratory dedicated to meeting the nation's environmental, energy, nuclear technology, and national security needs. INL is a science-based, applied engineering national laboratory dedicated to meeting the nation's environmental, energy, nuclear technology, and national security needs. The Idaho Operations Office oversees these contract activities in accordance with DOE directives. INL is a multi-program

The combined strong earthquake and super tsunami of 12 March 2011 at the Fukushima nuclearpower plant imposed the most severe challenges ever experienced at such a facility. Information regarding the plant response and status remains uncertain, but it is clear that severe damage has been sustained, that the plant staff have responded creatively and that the offsite implications are unlikely to be seriously threatening to the health, if not the prosperity, of the surrounding population. Re-examination of the regulatory constraints of nuclearpower will occur worldwide, and some changes are likely, particularly concerning reliance upon active systems for achieving critical safety functions and concerning treatments of used reactor fuel. Whether worldwide expansion of the nuclearpower economy will be slowed in the long run is perhaps unlikely and worth discussion.

Version: 00 MESODIF-II, which embodies a variable trajectory plume segment atmospheric transport model, is designed to predict normalized air concentrations and deposition of radioactive, but otherwise non-reactive, effluents released from one or two levels over the same position in an xy-plane. In such a model, calculated particle trajectories vary as synoptic scale wind varies. At all sampling times, the particles are connected to form a segmented plume centerline. The lateral and vertical dimensions of themoreÂ Â» plume are determined by a parameterization of turbulence scale diffusion. The impetus for the development of this model arose from the need of the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to assess radiological effects resulting from routine nuclearpower reactor operations, as outlined in U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Guide 1.111.Â«Â less

To define the program for the management of cost-effective maintenance of Department of Energy (DOE) nuclearfacilities. Guidance for compliance with this Order is contained in DOE G 433.1-1, NuclearFacility Maintenance Management Program Guide for use with DOE O 433.1, which references Federal regulations, DOE directives, and industry best practices using a graded approach to clarify requirements and guidance for maintaining DOE-owned Government property. (Cancels DOE 4330.4B, Chapter II, Maintenance Management Program, dated 2-10-94.) Cancels DOE 4330.4B (in part). Canceled by DOE O 433.1A.

Nuclear and Facility Safety Program Workshop 2016 Nuclear and Facility Safety Program Workshop March 22, 2016 - 3:48pm Addthis 2016 Nuclear and Facility Safety Program Workshop The Office of Environmental Health, Safety, and Security will sponsor the 2016 Nuclear and Facility Safety Program Workshop which will be held May 2-6, 2016 at the Alexis Park in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Workshop will include meetings for the DOE Safety Culture Improvement Panel, Federal Technical Capability Panel, Facility

The Guidelines for Evaluation of NuclearFacility Training Programs establish objectives and criteria for evaluating nuclearfacility training programs. The guidance in this standard provides a framework for the systematic evaluation of training programs at nuclearfacilities and is based, in part, on established criteria for Technical Safety Appraisals, Tiger Team Assessments, commercial nuclear industry evaluations, and the DOE Training Accreditation Program.

Commercial nuclearpower plants in this country can be owned by a number of separate entities, each with varying ownership proportions. Each of these owners may, in turn, have a parent/subsidiary relationship to other companies. In addition, the operator of the plant may be a different entity as well. This report provides a compilation on the owners/operators for all commercial power reactors in the United States. While the utility industry is currently experiencing changes in organizational structure which may affect nuclear plant ownership, the data in this report is current as of July 1996. The report is divided into sections representing different aspects of nuclear plant ownership.

Commercial nuclearpower plants in this country can be owned by a number of separate entities, each with varying ownership proportions. Each of these owners may, in turn, have a parent/subsidiary relationship to other companies. In addition, the operator of the plant may be a different entity as well. This report provides a compilation on the owners/operators for all commercial power reactors in the United States. While the utility industry is currently experiencing changes in organizational structure which may affect nuclear plant ownership, the data in this report is current as of November 1999. The report is divided into sections representing different aspects of nuclear plant ownership.

The 101 nuclear plants operating in the US today are far safer than they were 20-30 years ago. For example, there's been about a 100-fold reduction in the occurrence of 'significant events' since the late 1970s. Although the youngest of currently operating US plants was designed in the 1970s, all have been significantly modified over the years. Key contributors to the safety gains are a vigilant culture, much improved equipment reliability, greatly improved training of operators and maintenance workers, worldwide sharing of experience, and the effective use of probabilistic risk assessment. Several manufacturers have submitted high quality new designs for large reactors to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for design approval, and several companies are vigorously working on designs for smaller, modular reactors. Although the Fukushima reactor accident in March 2011 in Japan has been an almost unmitigated disaster for the local population due to their being displaced from their homes and workplaces and also due to the land contamination, its 'lessons learned' have been important for the broader nuclear industry, and will surely result in safer nuclear plants worldwide - indeed, have already done so, with more safety improvements to come.

The principal purpose of this trip was to participate in the Anniversary Specialist Conference on NuclearPower Engineering in Space hosted by the USSR Ministry of Atomic Power Engineering and Industry. The conference was held in Obninsk, USSR. A secondary purpose of the trip was to meet with the French Commissariat A L'Energie Atomique in Paris regarding the status of their space power program.

DSNP (Dynamic Simulator for NuclearPower-Plants) is a system of programs and data files by which a nuclearpower plant, or part thereof, can be simulated. The acronym DSNP is used interchangeably for the DSNP language, the DSNP libraries, the DSNP precompiler, and the DSNP document generator. The DSNP language is a special-purpose, block-oriented, digital-simulation language developed to facilitate the preparation of dynamic simulations of a large variety of nuclearpower plants. It is amoreÂ Â» user-oriented language that permits the user to prepare simulation programs directly from power plant block diagrams and flow charts by recognizing the symbolic DSNP statements for the appropriate physical components and listing these statements in a logical sequence according to the flow of physical properties in the simulated power plant. Physical components of nuclearpower plants are represented by functional blocks, or modules. Many of the more complex components are represented by several modules. The nuclear reactor, for example, has a kinetic module, a power distribution module, a feedback module, a thermodynamic module, a hydraulic module, and a radioactive heat decay module. These modules are stored in DSNP libraries in the form of a DSNP subroutine or function, a block of statements, a macro, or a combination of the above. Basic functional blocks such as integrators, pipes, function generators, connectors, and many auxiliary functions representing properties of materials used in nuclearpower plants are also available. The DSNP precompiler analyzes the DSNP simulation program, performs the appropriate translations, inserts the requested modules from the library, links these modules together, searches necessary data files, and produces a simulation program in FORTRAN.Â«Â less

The application of a Safeguards-by-Design (SBD) process for new nuclearfacilities has the potential to reduce security risks and proliferation hazards while improving the synergy of major design features and raising operational efficiency, in a world where significant expansion of nuclear energy use may occur. Correspondingly, the U.S. DOEâ€™s Next Generation Safeguards Initiative (NGSI) includes objectives to contribute to international efforts to develop SBD, and to apply SBD in the development of new U.S. nuclear infrastructure. Here, SBD is defined as a structured approach to ensure the timely, efficient and cost effective integration of international safeguards and other nonproliferation barriers with national material control and accountability, physical protection, and safety objectives into the overall design process for a nuclearfacility, from initial planning through design, construction and operation. The SBD process, in its simplest form, may be applied usefully today within most national regulatory environments. Development of a mature approach to implementing SBD requires work in the areas of requirements definition, design processes, technology and methodology, and institutionalization. The U.S. efforts described in this paper are supportive of SBD work for international safeguards that has recently been initiated by the IAEA with the participation of many stakeholders including member States, the IAEA, nuclear technology suppliers, nuclear utilities, and the broader international nonproliferation community.

Nuclear Security Administration | (NNSA) Security Upgrades Completed at Three Russian NuclearFacilities December 10, 2004 NNSA continues work to keep nuclear material out of the hands of terrorists RUSSIA -- The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) commemorated ten years of work securing nuclear and radiological material in Russia and the former Soviet Union by completing security upgrades at two Russian nuclearfacilities this week. Upgrades at a third facility were completed in

The Al Tuwaitha nuclear complex near Baghdad contains a significant number of nuclearfacilities from Saddam Hussein's dictatorship. Because of past military operations, lack of upkeep and looting there is now an enormous radioactive waste problem at Al Tuwaitha. Al Tuwaitha contains uncharacterised radioactive wastes, yellow cake, sealed radioactive sources, and contaminated metals. The current security situation in Iraq hampers all aspects of radioactive waste management. Further, Iraq has never had a radioactive waste disposal facility, which means that ever increasing quantities of radioactive waste and material must be held in guarded storage. The Iraq NuclearFacility Dismantlement and Disposal Program (the NDs Program) has been initiated by the U.S. Department of State (DOS) to assist the Government of Iraq (GOI) in eliminating the threats from poorly controlled radioactive materials, while building human capacities so that the GOI can manage other environmental cleanups in their country. The DOS has funded the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to provide technical assistance to the GOI via a Technical Cooperation Project. Program coordination will be provided by the DOS, consistent with U.S. and GOI policies, and Sandia National Laboratories will be responsible for coordination of participants and for providing waste management support. Texas Tech University will continue to provide in-country assistance, including radioactive waste characterization and the stand-up of the Iraq Nuclear Services Company. The GOI owns the problems in Iraq and will be responsible for the vast majority of the implementation of the NDs Program. (authors)

National Laboratory | Department of Energy Advisory Committee, Facility Subcommittee visit to Idaho National Laboratory Nuclear Energy Advisory Committee, Facility Subcommittee visit to Idaho National Laboratory The Nuclear Energy Advisory Committee, Facility Subcommittee visited the Idaho National Laboratory on 19-20 May 2010 to tour the nuclear infrastructure and to discuss the INL plans for facility modernization as a dimension of the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy's (NE) mission. This was

The order defines the safety management program required by 10 CFR 830.204(b)(5) for maintenance and the reliable performance of structures, systems and components that are part of the safety basis required by 10 CFR 830.202 at hazard category 1, 2 and 3 DOE nuclearfacilities. Admin Chg 1, dated 3-12-2013, supersedes DOE O 433.1B.

The Order defines the safety management program required by 10 CFR 830.204(b)(5) for maintenance and the reliable performance of Structures, Systems and Components (SSCs) that are part of the safety basis required by 10 CFR 830.202.1 at hazard category 1, 2 and 3 Department of Energy (DOE) nuclearfacilities. Cancels DOE O 433.1. Canceled by DOE O 433.1B.

The order defines the safety management program required by 10 CFR 830.204(b)(5) for maintenance and the reliable performance of structures, systems and components that are part of the safety basis required by 10 CFR 830.202 at hazard category 1, 2 and 3 DOE nuclearfacilities. Admin Chg 1, dated 3-12-2013. Cancels DOE O 433.1A.

This environmental impact statement analyzes the WA Power LLC proposal to construct and operate a 838 megawatt gas-fired combustion turbine facility near the town of Creston, Washington. The project site is approtiately 1,200 acres, of which less than 140 acres be impacted.

To help meet our nationâ€™s energy needs, reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel is being considered more and more as a necessary step in a future nuclear fuel cycle, but incorporating this step into the fuel cycle will require considerable investment. This report presents an evaluation of financing scenarios for reprocessing facilities integrated into the nuclear fuel cycle. A range of options, from fully government owned to fully private owned, was evaluated using a DPL (Dynamic Programming Language) 6.0 model, which can systematically optimize outcomes based on user-defined criteria (e.g., lowest life-cycle cost, lowest unit cost). Though all business decisions follow similar logic with regard to financing, reprocessing facilities are an exception due to the range of financing options available. The evaluation concludes that lowest unit costs and lifetime costs follow a fully government-owned financing strategy, due to government forgiveness of debt as sunk costs. Other financing arrangements, however, including regulated utility ownership and a hybrid ownership scheme, led to acceptable costs, below the Nuclear Energy Agency published estimates. Overwhelmingly, uncertainty in annual capacity led to the greatest fluctuations in unit costs necessary for recovery of operating and capital expenditures; the ability to determine annual capacity will be a driving factor in setting unit costs. For private ventures, the costs of capital, especially equity interest rates, dominate the balance sheet; the annual operating costs dominate the government case. It is concluded that to finance the construction and operation of such a facility without government ownership could be feasible with measures taken to mitigate risk, and that factors besides unit costs should be considered (e.g., legal issues, social effects, proliferation concerns) before making a decision on financing strategy.

After a prolonged absence, the word 'nuclear' has returned to the lexicon of sustainable domestic energy resources. Due in no small part to its demonstrated reliability, nuclearpower is poised to playa greater role in the nation's energy future, producing clean, carbon-neutral electricity and contributing even more to our energy security. To nuclear scientists, the resurgence presents an opportunity to inject new technologies into the industry to maximize the benefits that nuclear energy can provide. 'By developing new options for waste management and exploiting new materials to make key technological advances, we can significantly impact the use of nuclear energy in our future energy mix,' says Chris Stanek, a materials scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Stanek approaches the big technology challenges by thinking way small, all the way down to the atoms. He and his colleagues are using cutting edge atomic-scale simulations to address a difficult aspect of nuclear waste -- predicting its behavior far into the future. Their research is part of a broader, coordinated effort on the part of the Laboratory to use its considerable experimental, theoretical, and computational capabilities to explore advanced materials central to not only waste issues, but to nuclear fuels as well.

Nuclear fission power reactors represent a potential solution to many aspects of global change possibly induced by inputting of either particulate or carbon or sulfur oxides into the Earth`s atmosphere. Of proven technological feasibility, they presently produce high-grade heat for large-scale electricity generation, space heating and industrial process-energizing around the world, without emitting greenhouse gases or atmospheric particulates; importantly, electricity production costs from the best nuclear plants presently are closely comparable with those of the best fossil-fired plants. However, a substantial number of issues currently stand between nuclearpower and widespread substitution for large stationary fossil fuel-fired systems. These include perceptual ones regarding both long-term and acute operational safety, plant decommissioning, fuel reprocessing, radwaste disposal, fissile materials diversion to military purposes and - perhaps most seriously- readily quantifiable concerns regarding long-term fuel supply and total unit electrical energy cost. We sketch a road-map for proceeding from the present situation toward a nuclearpower-intensive world, addressing along the way each of the concerns which presently impede widespread nuclear substitution for fossil fuels, particularly for coal in the most populous and rapidly developing portions of the world, e.g., China and India. This `design to societal specifications` approach to large-scale nuclear fission power systems may lead to energy sources meeting essentially all stationary demands for high-temperature heat. Such advanced options offer a human population of ten billion the electricity supply levels currently enjoyed by Americans for 10,000 years. Nuclearpower systems tailored to local needs-and-interests and having a common advanced technology base could reduce present-day world-wide C0{sub 2} emissions by two-fold, if universally employed. By application to small mobile demands, a second two

Idaho | Department of Energy Loan Guarantee for Front End NuclearFacility in Idaho DOE Offers Conditional Loan Guarantee for Front End NuclearFacility in Idaho May 20, 2010 - 12:00am Addthis Washington, DC - As part of a broad effort to expand the use of nuclearpower in the United States and reduce carbon pollution, U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced today the Department's first conditional commitment for a front-end nuclearfacility. The $2 billion loan guarantee will support

The list indicates percentage ownership of commercial nuclearpower plants by utility companies as of September 1, 1982. The list includes all plants licensed to operate, under construction, docketed for NRC safety and environmental reviews, or under NRC antitrust review. Part I lists plants alphabetically with their associated applicants and percentage ownership. Part II lists applicants alphabetically with their associated plants and percentage ownership. Part I also indicates which plants have received operating licenses.

Recently there has been a noted worldwide increase in violent actions including attempted sabotage at nuclearpower plants. Several organizations, such as the International Atomic Energy Agency and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, have guidelines, recommendations, and formal threat- and risk-assessment processes for the protection of nuclear assets. Other examples are the former Defense Special Weapons Agency, which used a risk-assessment model to evaluate force-protection security requirements for terrorist incidents at DOD military bases. The US DOE uses a graded approach to protect its assets based on risk and vulnerability assessments. The Federal Aviation Administration and Federal Bureau of Investigation conduct joint threat and vulnerability assessments on high-risk US airports. Several private companies under contract to government agencies use formal risk-assessment models and methods to identify security requirements. The purpose of this paper is to survey these methods and present an overview of all potential types of sabotage at nuclearpower plants. The paper discusses emerging threats and current methods of choice for sabotage--especially vehicle bombs and chemical attacks. Potential consequences of sabotage acts, including economic and political; not just those that may result in unacceptable radiological exposure to the public, are also discussed. Applicability of risk-assessment methods and mitigation techniques are also presented.

The purpose of this Handbook is to provide guidance on how to calculate the characteristics of releases of radioactive materials and/or hazardous chemicals from nonreactor nuclearfacilities. In addition, the Handbook provides guidance on how to calculate the consequences of those releases. There are four major chapters: Hazard Evaluation and Scenario Development; Source Term Determination; Transport Within Containment/Confinement; and Atmospheric Dispersion and Consequences Modeling. These chapters are supported by Appendices, including: a summary of chemical and nuclear information that contains descriptions of various fuel cycle facilities; details on how to calculate the characteristics of source terms for releases of hazardous chemicals; a comparison of NRC, EPA, and OSHA programs that address chemical safety; a summary of the performance of HEPA and other filters; and a discussion of uncertainties. Several sample problems are presented: a free-fall spill of powder, an explosion with radioactive release; a fire with radioactive release; filter failure; hydrogen fluoride release from a tankcar; a uranium hexafluoride cylinder rupture; a liquid spill in a vitrification plant; and a criticality incident. Finally, this Handbook includes a computer model, LPF No.1B, that is intended for use in calculating Leak Path Factors. A list of contributors to the Handbook is presented in Chapter 6. 39 figs., 35 tabs.

The reintroduction of nuclearpower in the Philippines is favored by several factors such as: the inclusion of nuclear energy in the energy sector of the science and technology agenda for national development (STAND); the Large gap between electricity demand and available local supply for the medium-term power development plan; the relatively lower health risks in nuclearpower fuel cycle systems compared to the already acceptable power systems; the lower environmental impacts of nuclearpower systems compared to fossil fuelled systems and the availability of a regulatory framework and trained personnel who could form a core for implementing a nuclearpower program. The electricity supply gap of 9600 MW for the period 1993-2005 could be partly supplied by nuclearpower. The findings of a recent study are described, as well as the issues that have to be addressed in the reintroduction of nuclearpower.

In Germany, a substantial amount of experience is available with planning, licensing and realization of decommissioning projects. In total, a number of 18 nuclearpower plants including prototype facilities as well as 6 research reactors and 3 fuel cycle facilities have been shut down finally and are at different stages of decommissioning. Only recently the final {open_quotes}green field{close_quotes} stage of the Niederaichbach NuclearPower Plant total dismantlement project has been achieved. From the regulatory point of view, a survey of the decommissioning experience in Germany is presented highlighting the aspects of production and retention of airborne radioactivity. Nuclear air cleaning technology, discharge limits prescribed in licences and actual discharges are presented. As compared to operation, the composition of the discharged radioactivity is different as well as the off-gas discharge rate. In practically all cases, there is no significant amount of short-lived radionuclides. The discussion further includes lessons learned, for example inadvertent discharges of radionuclides expected not to be in the plants inventory. It is demonstrated that, as for operation of nuclearpower plants, the limits prescribed in the Ordinance on Radiological Protection can be met using existing air cleaning technology, Optimization of protection results in public exposures substantially below the limits. In the frame of the regulatory investigation programme a study has been conducted to assess the airborne radioactivity created during certain decommissioning activities like decontamination, segmentation and handling of contaminated or activated parts. The essential results of this study are presented, which are supposed to support planning for decommissioning, for LWRs, Co-60 and Cs-137 are expected to be the dominant radionuclides in airborne discharges. 18 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab.

Several Countries: Evaluation for Regulatory Input | Department of Energy Approaches used for Clearance of Lands from NuclearFacilities among Several Countries: Evaluation for Regulatory Input Approaches used for Clearance of Lands from NuclearFacilities among Several Countries: Evaluation for Regulatory Input The study entitled, "Approaches used for Clearance of Lands from NuclearFacilities among Several Countries: Evaluation for Regulatory Input," focuses on the issue of

This summary describes the operations to clean up the equipment of the Nuclear Licensed Facility 57 (NLF 57). Due to the diversity of the research and development work carried out on the reprocessing of spent fuel in it, this installation is emblematic of many of the technical and organizational issues liable to be encountered in the final closure of nuclearfacilities. The French atomic energy commission's center at Fontenay aux Roses (CEA-FAR) was created in 1946 to house pile ZOE. Laboratories for fuel cycle research were installed in existing buildings at the site. Work was later concentrated on spent fuel reprocessing, in a pilot workshop referred to as the 'Usine Pu'. In the early sixties, after the dismantling of these first generation facilities, a radiochemistry laboratory dedicated to research and development work on reprocessing was constructed, designated Building 18. During the same decade, more buildings were added: Building 54, storehouses and offices, Building 91, a hall and laboratories for chemical engineering research on natural and depleted uranium. Together, these three building constitute NLF 57. Building 18 architecture featured four similar modules. Each module had three levels: a sub-level consisting of technical galleries and rooms for the liquid effluent tanks, a ground floor and roof space in which the ventilation was installed. Offices, change rooms, four laboratories and a hall were situated on the ground floor. The shielded lines were installed in the laboratories and the halls. Construction of the building took place between 1959 and 1962, and its commissioning began in 1961. The research and development programs performed in NLF 57 related to studies of the reprocessing of spent fuel, including dry methods and the Purex process, techniques for the treatment of waste (vitrification, alpha waste decontamination, etc.) as well as studies and production of transuranic elements for industry and research. In addition to this work, the

This report indicates percentage ownership of commercial nuclearpower plants by utility companies. The report includes all plants operating, under construction, docketed for NRC safety and environmental reviews, or under NRC antitrust review, but does not include those plants announced but not yet under review or those plants formally cancelled. Part 1 of the report lists plants alphabetically with their associated applicants or licensees and percentage ownership. Part 2 lists applicants or licensees alphabetically with their associated plants and percentage ownership. Part 1 also indicates which plants have received operating licenses (OLS).

National Nuclear Security Administration | (NNSA) completes major overhaul of key nuclear weapons test facilities Tuesday, May 13, 2014 - 2:46pm Sandia National Laboratories recently completed the renovation of five large-scale test facilities that are crucial to ensuring the safety and reliability of the nation's nuclear weapons systems. The work supports Sandia's ongoing nuclear stockpile modernization work on the B61-12 and W88 Alt, assessments of current stockpile systems, and test and

Public acceptance is a decisive factor of growing importance, although economics has been and will remain the most decisive factor in ordering new nuclear capacity. Nuclear energy can make an important contribution toward preventing and reducing the greenhouse effect. Many politicians tend to base their decisions not on facts but rather on so called public opinion and consequently to overreact in particular on environmental issues. The entire debate hinges on public confidence rather than on a lack of information. There is no 100% guarantee that technical facilities will operate completely accident-free. Therefore, standards should be harmonized, plants should be operated safely and consequences of possible accidents should be limited. There needs to be some kind of early information system between countries concerning upcoming issues as a prerequisite for acting instead of reacting, because this is an essential tool in convincing the public that they can have more confidence. Technical information alone does not answer the real questions of the public. Political, technical, and economic matters as well as public opinion are interwoven and cannot be separated from each. Therefore, the exchange of experience gained in all these sectors on an international basis must be improved.

The order establishes requirements for verifying readiness for startup of new Hazard Category 1, 2, and 3 nuclearfacilities, activities, and operations, and for restart of existing Hazard Category 1, 2, and 3 nuclearfacilities, activities, and operations that have been shut down. Adm Chg 1, dated 4-2-13, supersedes DOE O 425.1D.

The order establishes requirements for verifying readiness for startup of new Hazard Category 1, 2, and 3 nuclearfacilities, activities, and operations, and for restart of existing Hazard Category 1, 2, and 3 nuclearfacilities, activities, and operations that have been shut down. Cancels DOE O 425.1C. Adm Chg 1, dated 4-2-13.

(NNSA) Programs Powering the Nuclear Navy The Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program provides militarily effective nuclear propulsion plants and ensures their safe, reliable and long-lived operation. This mission requires the combination of fully trained U.S. Navy men and women with ships that excel in endurance, stealth, speed, and independence from supply chains. The Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program provides militarily effective nuclear propulsion plants and ensures their safe, reliable and

Evaluation / Research and Development Facilities Photo: DARHT's Accelerators help create the x-rays at DARHT, the world's most advanced radiography facility. Research and Development Facilities Research and Development manages and oversees the operation of an exceptional suite of science, technology and engineering facilities that support and further the national stockpile stewardship agenda. Of varying size, scope and capabilities, the facilities work in a concert to accomplish the following

Underground collocation of nuclearpower reactors and the nuclear waste management facilities supporting those reactors, termed an underground nuclear park (UNP), appears to have several advantages compared to the conventional approach to siting reactors and waste management facilities. These advantages include the potential to lower reactor capital and operating cost, lower nuclear waste management cost, and increase margins of physical security and safety. Envirorunental impacts related to worker health, facility accidents, waste transportation, and sabotage and terrorism appear to be lower for UNPs compared to the current approach. In-place decommissioning ofUNP reactors appears to have cost, safety, envirorunental and waste disposal advantages. The UNP approach has the potential to lead to greater public acceptance for the deployment of new power reactors. Use of the UNP during the post-nuclear renaissance time frame has the potential to enable a greater expansion of U.S. nuclearpower generation than might otherwise result. Technical and economic aspects of the UNP concept need more study to determine the viability of the concept.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has proposed the construction and operation of a Replacement PowerFacility (RPF) for supplementing and replacing existing sources of steam and possibly electricity at the Savannah River Site (SRS). DOE is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for this project As part of the impact analysis of the proposed action, the EIS will include a detailed description of the environment where the RPF will be constructed. This description must be specific to the recommended site at SRS, which contains more than 300 square miles of land including streams, lakes, impoundments, wetlands, and upland areas. A formal site-selection process was designed and implemented to identify the preferred RPF site.

The pros and cons of nuclearpower are similar in many countries, but the following pro factors are specific to the Soviet Union: the major sources of conventional fuel are in one area of the country, but energy consumption is concentrated in another; and a large portion of energy is generated using oil and gas. The arguments against nuclearpower are as follows: safety requirements and expectations have been increased; and public opinion is negative. A program of nuclearpower generation has been developed. New techniques are being implemented to increase safety and enhance operations of different types of nuclearpower plants. Its should be obvious in the future that a nuclearpower plant has better economic and environmental parameters than existing methods of power generation.

Facilities Nike mirror array and lens array ICF operates a set of world-class experimental facilities to create HEDP conditions and to obtain quantitative data in support of its numerous stockpile stewardship-related activities. To learn about three high energy experimental facilities and two small lasers that provide ICF capabilities, select the links below. National Ignition Facility, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory OMEGA and OMEGA EP, University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser

This paper provides a high level overview of current nuclearpower technology and the potential use of nuclearpower at military bases. The size, power ranges, and applicability of nuclearpower units for military base power are reviewed. Previous and current reactor projects are described to further define the potential for nuclearpower for military power.

Nuclearpower plants should safely operate during normal operations and maintain core-cooling capabilities during off-normal events, including external hazards (such as flooding and earthquakes). Management of external hazards to expectable levels of risk is critical to maintaining nuclearfacility and nuclearpower plant safety. Seismic risk is determined by convolving the seismic hazard with seismic fragilities (capacity of systems, structures, and components). Seismic isolation (SI) is one protective measure showing promise to minimize seismic risk. Current SI designs (used in commercial industry) reduce horizontal earthquake loads and protect critical infrastructure from the potentially destructive effects of large earthquakes. The benefitmoreÂ Â» of SI application in the nuclear industry is being recognized and SI systems have been proposed in American Society of Civil Engineer Standard 4, ASCE-4, to be released in the winter of 2014, for light water reactors facilities using commercially available technology. The intent of ASCE-4 is to provide criteria for seismic analysis of safety related nuclear structures such that the responses to design basis seismic events, computed in accordance with this standard, will have a small likelihood of being exceeded. The U.S. nuclear industry has not implemented SI to date; a seismic isolation gap analysis meeting was convened on August 19, 2014, to determine progress on implementing SI in the U.S. nuclear industry. The meeting focused on the systems and components that could benefit from SI. As a result, this article highlights the gaps identified at this meeting.Â«Â less

Nuclearpower plants should safely operate during normal operations and maintain core-cooling capabilities during off-normal events, including external hazards (such as flooding and earthquakes). Management of external hazards to expectable levels of risk is critical to maintaining nuclearfacility and nuclearpower plant safety. Seismic risk is determined by convolving the seismic hazard with seismic fragilities (capacity of systems, structures, and components). Seismic isolation (SI) is one protective measure showing promise to minimize seismic risk. Current SI designs (used in commercial industry) reduce horizontal earthquake loads and protect critical infrastructure from the potentially destructive effects of large earthquakes. The benefit of SI application in the nuclear industry is being recognized and SI systems have been proposed in American Society of Civil Engineer Standard 4, ASCE-4, to be released in the winter of 2014, for light water reactors facilities using commercially available technology. The intent of ASCE-4 is to provide criteria for seismic analysis of safety related nuclear structures such that the responses to design basis seismic events, computed in accordance with this standard, will have a small likelihood of being exceeded. The U.S. nuclear industry has not implemented SI to date; a seismic isolation gap analysis meeting was convened on August 19, 2014, to determine progress on implementing SI in the U.S. nuclear industry. The meeting focused on the systems and components that could benefit from SI. As a result, this article highlights the gaps identified at this meeting.

The Fusion Nuclear Science Facility (FNSF) is a nuclear confinement facility to provide a fusion environment with components of the reactor integrated together to bridge the technical gaps of burning plasma and nuclear science between ITER and the demonstration power plant (DEMO). Compared to ITER, the FNSF is smaller in size but generates much higher magnetic field, 30 times higher neutron fluence with 3 orders of magnitude longer plasma operation at higher operating temperatures for structures surrounding the plasma. Input parameters to the magnet design from system code analysis include magnetic field of 7.5 T at the plasma center withmoreÂ Â» plasma major radius of 4.8 m and minor radius of 1.2 m, and a peak field of 15.5 T on the TF coils for FNSF. Both low temperature superconductor (LTS) and high temperature superconductor (HTS) are considered for the FNSF magnet design based on the state-of-the-art fusion magnet technology. The higher magnetic field can be achieved by using the high performance ternary Restack Rod Process (RRP) Nb3Sn strands for toroidal field (TF) magnets. The circular cable-in-conduit conductor (CICC) design similar to ITER magnets and a high aspect ratio rectangular CICC design are evaluated for FNSF magnets but low activation jacket materials may need to be selected. The conductor design concept and TF coil winding pack composition and dimension based on the horizontal maintenance schemes are discussed. Neutron radiation limits for the LTS and HTS superconductors and electrical insulation materials are also reviewed based on the available materials previously tested. As a result, the material radiation limits for FNSF magnets are defined as part of the conceptual design studies for FNSF magnets.Â«Â less

The University of Massachusetts Lowell Radiation Laboratory (UMLRL) is involved in a comprehensive project to investigate a unique radiation sensing and energy conversion technology with applications for in-situ monitoring of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) during cask transport and storage. The technology makes use of the gamma photons emitted from the SNF as an inherent power source for driving a GPS-class transceiver that has the ability to verify the position and contents of the SNF cask. The power conversion process, which converts the gamma photon energy into electrical power, is based on a variation of the successful dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) design developed by Konarka Technologies, Inc. (KTI). In particular, the focus of the current research is to make direct use of the high-energy gamma photons emitted from SNF, coupled with a scintillator material to convert some of the incident gamma photons into photons having wavelengths within the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The high-energy gammas from the SNF will generate some power directly via Compton scattering and the photoelectric effect, and the generated visible photons output from the scintillator material can also be converted to electrical power in a manner similar to that of a standard solar cell. Upon successful implementation of an energy conversion device based on this new gammavoltaic principle, this inherent power source could then be utilized within SNF storage casks to drive a tamper-proof, low-power, electronic detection/security monitoring system for the spent fuel. The current project has addressed several aspects associated with this new energy conversion concept, including the development of a base conceptual design for an inherent gamma-induced power conversion unit for SNF monitoring, the characterization of the radiation environment that can be expected within a typical SNF storage system, the initial evaluation of Konarka's base solar cell design, the design and

The Guide was developed in support of DOE O 226.1B to provide guidance that may be useful to DOE line management organizations in meeting the provisions of that order when applied to nuclearfacilities.

CRAD for Startup and Restart of NuclearFacilities (SNF). Criteria Review and Approach Documents (CRADs) that can be used to conduct a well-organized and thorough assessment of elements of safety and health programs.

Developing automated methods for data collection and analysis that can facilitate nuclear nonproliferation assessment is an important research area with significant consequences for the effective global deployment of nuclear energy. Facility modeling that can integrate and interpret observations collected from monitored facilities in order to ascertain their functional details will be a critical element of these methods. Although improvements are continually sought, existing facility modeling tools can characterize all aspects of reactor operations and the majority of nuclear fuel cycle processing steps, and include algorithms for data processing and interpretation. Assessing nonproliferation status is challenging because observations can come from many sources, including local and remote sensors that monitor facility operations, as well as open sources that provide specific business information about the monitored facilities, and can be of many different types. Although many current facility models are capable of analyzing large amounts of information, they have not been integrated in an analyst-friendly manner. This paper addresses some of these facility modeling capabilities and illustrates how they could be integrated and utilized for nonproliferation analysis. The inverse problem of inferring facility conditions based on collected observations is described, along with a proposed architecture and computer framework for utilizing facility modeling tools. After considering a representative sampling of key facility modeling capabilities, the proposed integration framework is illustrated with several examples.

Developing automated methods for data collection and analysis that can facilitate nuclear nonproliferation assessment is an important research area with significant consequences for the effective global deployment of nuclear energy. Facility modeling that can integrate and interpret observations collected from monitored facilities in order to ascertain their functional details will be a critical element of these methods. Although improvements are continually sought, existing facility modeling tools can characterize all aspects of reactor operations and the majority of nuclear fuel cycle processing steps, and include algorithms for data processing and interpretation. Assessing nonproliferation status is challenging because observations can come from many sources, including local and remote sensors that monitor facility operations, as well as open sources that provide specific business information about the monitored facilities, and can be of many different types. Although many current facility models are capable of analyzing large amounts of information, they have not been integrated in an analyst-friendly manner. This paper addresses some of these facility modeling capabilities and illustrates how they could be integrated and utilized for nonproliferation analysis. The inverse problem of inferring facility conditions based on collected observations is described, along with a proposed architecture and computer framework for utilizing facility modeling tools. After considering a representative sampling of key facility modeling capabilities, the proposed integration framework is illustrated with several examples.

Facilities Subcommittee Nuclear Energy Advisory Committee Presented June 17, 2016 Washington DC John I Sackett Charge to the Facilities Subcommittee * "..request that NEAC now undertake a forward looking review of where you believe the Idaho National Laboratory should be ten years from now to maintain overall world-class status in nuclear energy research, development, and demonstration, and considering its role as a maturing multi-program national laboratory." * "The review should

(DNFSB) | Department of Energy Departmental Representative to the Defense NuclearFacilities Safety Board (DNFSB) Departmental Representative to the Defense NuclearFacilities Safety Board (DNFSB) The Office of the Departmental Representative ensures effective cross-organizational leadership and coordination to resolve DNFSB-identified technical and management issues as we work to ensure the health, safety, and security of the workers, public, and environment. This web site is an important

This paper is an effort to identify, as comprehensively as possible, public concerns about nuclearpower, and to assess, where possible, the relative importance of these concerns as they relate to government regulation of and policy towards nuclearpower. It is based on some two dozen in-depth interviews with key communicators representing the nuclearpower industry, the environmental community, and government, as well as on the parallel efforts in our research project: (1) review of federal court case law, (2) a selective examination of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) administrative process, and (3) the preceding George Mason University research project in this series. The paper synthesizes our findings about public attitudes towards nuclearpower as expressed through federal court case law, NRC administrative law, public opinion surveys, and direct personal interviews. In so doing, we describe the public opinion environment in which the nuclear regulatory process must operate. Our premise is that public opinion ultimately underlies the approaches government agencies take towards regulating nuclearpower, and that, to the degree that the nuclearpower industry's practices are aligned with public opinion, a more favorable regulatory climate is possible.

This paper is an effort to identify, as comprehensively as possible, public concerns about nuclearpower, and to assess, where possible, the relative importance of these concerns as they relate to government regulation of and policy towards nuclearpower. It is based on some two dozen in-depth interviews with key communicators representing the nuclearpower industry, the environmental community, and government, as well as on the parallel efforts in our research project: (1) review of federal court case law, (2) a selective examination of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) administrative process, and (3) the preceding George Mason University research project in this series. The paper synthesizes our findings about public attitudes towards nuclearpower as expressed through federal court case law, NRC administrative law, public opinion surveys, and direct personal interviews. In so doing, we describe the public opinion environment in which the nuclear regulatory process must operate. Our premise is that public opinion ultimately underlies the approaches government agencies take towards regulating nuclearpower, and that, to the degree that the nuclearpower industry`s practices are aligned with public opinion, a more favorable regulatory climate is possible.

The Zero Power Physics Reactor (ZPPR) facility is a Department of Energy facility located in the Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL) Materials and Fuels Complex. It contains various nuclear and non-nuclear materials that are available to support many radiation measurement assessments. User-selected, single material, nuclear and non-nuclear materials can be readily utilized with ZPPR clamshell containers with almost no criticality concerns. If custom, multi-material configurations are desired, the ZPPR clamshell or an approved aluminum Inspection Object (IO) Box container may be utilized, yet each specific material configuration will require a criticality assessment. As an example of the specialized material configurations possible, the National Nuclear Security Agency’s Office of Nuclear Verification (NNSA/NA 243) has sponsored the assembly of six material configurations. These are shown in the Appendixes and have been designated for semi-permanent storage that can be available to support various radiation measurement applications.

(NNSA) National Ignition Facility Glass amplifiers in Laser Bay 2 at the National Ignition Facility. The construction of the 192-beam 1.8 MJ UV NIF, the world's most energetic laser, was completed in March 2009. Current experiments are focusing on using the NIF laser and other ICF high energy density facilities leading to demonstrate fusion ignition and thermonuclear burn in the laboratory. The NIF is also being used to support basic science and SSP experiments. By the end of FY 2012, the

To establish selection, qualification, and training requirements for management and operating (M&O) contractor personnel involved in the operation, maintenance, and technical support of Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration Category A and B reactors and non-reactor nuclearfacilities. Canceled by DOE O 426.2

Radioactive iodine is detected in the effluent cooling gas from a nuclear reactor or nuclearfacility by passing the effluent gas through a continuously moving adsorbent filter material which is then purged of noble gases and conveyed continuously to a detector of radioactivity. The purging operation has little or no effect upon the concentration of radioactive iodine which is adsorbed on the filter material.

AIKEN, S.C. â€“ EM issued an amended Record of Decision (ROD) to the Savannah River Site (SRS) Spent Nuclear Fuel Environmental Impact Statement to expand the operations of the H-Canyon Facility at SRS to support a major nuclear non-proliferation goal and save taxpayer dollars.

It is widely viewed that an expansion of nuclearpower would have positive energy, economic and environmental benefits for the world. However, there are concerns about the economic competitiveness, safety and proliferation and terrorism risks of nuclearpower. The prospects for a dramatic growth in nuclearpower will depend on the ability of governments and industry to address these concerns, including the effectiveness of, and the resources devoted to, plans to develop and implement technologies and approaches that strengthen nonproliferation, nuclear materials accountability and nuclear security. In his Prague speech, President Obama stated: 'we should build a new framework for civil nuclear cooperation, including an international fuel bank, so that countries can access peaceful power without increasing the risks of proliferation. That must be the right of every nation that renounces nuclear weapons, especially developing countries embarking on peaceful programs. And no approach will succeed if it's based on the denial of rights to nations that play by the rules. We must harness the power of nuclear energy on behalf of our efforts to combat climate change, and to advance peace opportunity for all people.' How can the President's vision, which will rekindle a vigorous public debate over the future of nuclearpower and its relation to proliferation, be realized? What critical issues will frame the reemerging debate? What policies must be put into place to address these issues? Will US policy be marked more by continuity or change? To address these and other questions, the Los Alamos National Laboratory in cooperation with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars will host a workshop on the future of nuclearpower and nonproliferation.

(NNSA) Contained Firing Facility The CFF firing chamber is the largest explosive chamber in the world, used for large-scale experiments using high-explosives with full containment of hazardous materials. The facility provides a combination of capabilities, including wide-angle flash radiography, laser velocimetry, pin-dome measurements, and high-speed optical cameras that are used to measure dynamics during the experiments. CFF is a key component of NNSA's national hydrotest strategy and was

Administration | (NNSA) High Explosives Application Facility A Livermore scientist uses a laser spectroscopic method with a diamond anvil DOE/NNSA has identified LLNL's High Explosives Applications Facility (HEAF) as the complex-wide "Center of Excellence" for High-Explosives Research and Development. In this capacity, HEAF is a source of subject matter expertise for high explosives and other energetic materials. Its mission is to provide this expertise to serve multiple government

Interagency panels evaluating nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) development options have consistently recognized the need for constructing a major new ground test facility to support fuel element and engine testing. This paper summarizes the requirements, configuration, and baseline performance of some of the major subsystems designed to support a proposed ground test complex for evaluating nuclear thermal propulsion fuel elements and engines being developed for the Space Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (SNTP) program. Some preliminary results of evaluating this facility for use in testing other NTP concepts are also summarized.

Cost growth and construction delays are problems that plague many large construction projects including the construction of new Department of Energy (DOE) nuclearfacilities. A study was conducted to evaluate cost growth of large DOE construction projects. The purpose of the study was to compile relevant data, consider the possible causes of cost growth, and recommend measures that could be used to avoid extreme cost growth in the future. Both large DOE and non-DOE construction projects were considered in this study. With the exception of Chemical and Metallurgical Research Building Replacement Project (CMRR) and the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF), cost growth for DOE Nuclearfacilities is comparable to the growth experienced in other mega construction projects. The largest increase in estimated cost was found to occur between early cost estimates and establishing the project baseline during detailed design. Once the project baseline was established, cost growth for DOE nuclearfacilities was modest compared to non-DOE mega projects.

This book examines current practices, policies, and regulations concerning nuclear energy in the light of potential sabotage. Dr. Ramberg explains clearly, for both the lay reader and the technical community, the vulnerabilities of different sorts of nuclearfacilities. In a case-by-case analysis of countries using or building nuclearpower plants, he outlines the strategic hazards of these facilities. The safety of thousands could depend on such volatile factors as the psychological sensitivity of national leaders and the direction of the wind. A combination of engineering changes, use of alternative forms of energy to limit nuclear proliferation, and changes in international law could lessen these risks. Finally, Dr. Ramberg suggests specific national and international guidelines for monitoring nuclear exports.

Safety-related nuclearpower plant (NPP) structures are designed to withstand loadings from a number of low-probability external and interval events, such as earthquakes, tornadoes, and loss-of-coolant accidents. Loadings incurred during normal plant operation therefore generally are not significant enough to cause appreciable degradation. However, these structures are susceptible to aging by various processes depending on the operating environment and service conditions. The effects of these processes may accumulate within these structures over time to cause failure under design conditions, or lead to costly repair. In the late 1980s and early 1990s several occurrences of degradation of NPP structures were discovered at various facilities (e.g., corrosion of pressure boundary components, freeze- thaw damage of concrete, and larger than anticipated loss of prestressing force). Despite these degradation occurrences and a trend for an increasing rate of occurrence, in-service inspection of the safety-related structures continued to be performed in a somewhat cursory manner. Starting in 1991, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) published the first of several new requirements to help ensure that adequate in-service inspection of these structures is performed. Current regulatory in-service inspection requirements are reviewed and a summary of degradation experience presented. Nondestructive examination techniques commonly used to inspect the NPP steel and concrete structures to identify and quantify the amount of damage present are reviewed. Finally, areas where nondestructive evaluation techniques require development (i.e., inaccessible portions of the containment pressure boundary, and thick heavily reinforced concrete sections are discussed.

In 2005, the Provisions on Nuclear Material Measurement System was enacted in Ukraine as an important regulatory driver to support international obligations in nuclear safeguards and nonproliferation. It defines key provisions and requirements for material measurement and measurement control programs to ensure the quality and reliability of measurement data within the framework of the State MC&A System. Implementing the Provisions requires establishing a number of measurement techniques for both fresh and spent nuclear fuel for various types of Ukrainian reactors. Our first efforts focused on measurements of fresh nuclear fuel from a WWR-1000 power reactor.

This book presents an overview of the history and current organization of the American nuclearpower industry. Part I focuses on development of the industry, including the number, capacity, and type of plants in commercial operation as well as those under construction. Part II examines the safety, environmental, antitrust, and licensing issues involved in the use of nuclearpower. Part III presents case studies of selected plants, such as Three Mile Island and Seabrook, to illustrate some of the issues discussed. The book also contains a listing of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission libraries and a subject index.

India plans to construct numerous nuclear plants and uranium mines across the country, which could have significant environmental, health, and social impacts. The national Environmental Impact Assessment process is supposed to regulate these impacts. This paper examines how effective this process has been, and the extent to which public inputs have been taken into account. In addition to generic problems associated with the EIA process for all kinds of projects in India, there are concerns that are specific to nuclearfacilities. One is that some nuclearfacilities are exempt from the environmental clearance process. The second is that data regarding radiation baseline levels and future releases, which is the principle environmental concern with respect to nuclearfacilities, is controlled entirely by the nuclear establishment. The third is that members of the nuclear establishment take part in almost every level of the environmental clearance procedure. For these reasons and others, the EIA process with regard to nuclear projects in India is of dubious quality. We make a number of recommendations that could address these lacunae, and more generally the imbalance of power between the nuclear establishment on the one hand, and civil society and the regulatory agencies on the other.

Ignition Facility Former Army Ranger wins Sandia-sponsored student of the year award Former Army Ranger Damon Alcorn recently received the Sandia National Laboratories-Livermore Chamber of Commerce Student of the Year Award. Presented at the Chamber's State of the City Luncheon last month, the annual award highlights a Las Positas College student with exemplary academic... NNSA makers and hackers engage innovation and partnerships NNSA's labs change the world everyday through cutting-edge

The development of a Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) system rests heavily upon being able to fabricate and demonstrate the performance of a high temperature nuclear fuel as well as demonstrating an integrated system prior to launch. A number of studies have been performed in the past which identified the facilities needed and the capabilities available to meet the needs and requirements identified at that time. Since that time, many facilities and capabilities within the Department of Energy have been removed or decommissioned. This paper provides a brief overview of the anticipated facility needs and identifies some promising concepts to be considered which could support the development of a nuclear thermal propulsion system. Detailed trade studies will need to be performed to support the decision making process.

In the six months after the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclearpower plant accident in Japan, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) took several actions to review the safety of its nuclearfacilities and identify situations where near-term improvements could be made.

Integrated energy, environment and economics modeling suggests electrical energy use will increase from 2.4 TWe today to 12 TWe in 2100. It will be challenging to provide 40% of this electrical power from combustion with carbon sequestration, as it will be challenging to provide 30% from renewable energy sources. Thus nuclearpower may be needed to provide ~30% by 2100. Calculations of the associated stocks and flows of uranium, plutonium and minor actinides indicate that the proliferation risks at mid-century, using current light-water reactor technology, are daunting. There are institutional arrangements that may be able to provide an acceptable level of risk mitigation, but they will be difficult to implement. If a transition is begun to fast-spectrum reactors at mid-century, without a dramatic change in the proliferation risks of such systems, at the end of the century proliferation risks are much greater, and more resistant to mitigation. The risks of nuclearpower should be compared with the risks of the estimated 0.64oC long-term global surface-average temperature rise predicted if nuclearpower were replaced with coal-fired power plants without carbon sequestration. Fusion energy, if developed, would provide a source of nuclearpower with much lower proliferation risks than fission.

Security Administration | (NNSA) Ceremony celebrates new NNSA facility in Kansas City Friday, August 22, 2014 - 3:00pm Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Under Secretary for Nuclear Security and NNSA Administrator Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz today hailed the completion of the new National Security Campus at a dedication ceremony in Kansas City, Mo. The new facility was completed ahead of schedule, $10 million under budget, and with the site's best safety and security performance on record. The event

NUREG/CR-6577, U.S. NuclearPower Plant Operating Cost and Experience Summaries, has been prepared to provide historical operating cost and experience information on U.S. commercial nuclearpower plants. Cost incurred after initial construction are characterized as annual production costs, representing fuel and plant operating and maintenance expenses, and capital expenditures related to facility additions/modifications which are included in the plant capital asset base. As discussed in the report, annual data for these two cost categories were obtained from publicly available reports and must be accepted as having different degrees of accuracy and completeness. Treatment of inconclusive and incomplete data is discussed. As an aid to understanding the fluctuations in the cost histories, operating summaries for each nuclear unit are provided. The intent of these summaries is to identify important operating events; refueling, major maintenance, and other significant outages; operating milestones; and significant licensing or enforcement actions. Information used in the summaries is condensed from annual operating reports submitted by the licensees, plant histories contained in NuclearPower Experience, trade press articles, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) web site (www.nrc.gov).

This multi-year, multi-faceted project was focused on the continued development of a nationally-recognized facility for the testing, characterization, and improvement of grid-connected wind turbines, integrated wind-water desalination systems, and related educational and outreach topics. The project involved numerous faculty and graduate students from various engineering departments, as well as others from the departments of Geosciences (in particular the Atmospheric Science Group) and Economics. It was organized through the National Wind Institute (NWI), which serves as an intellectual hub for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research, commercialization and education related to wind science, wind energy, wind engineering and wind hazard mitigation at Texas Tech University (TTU). Largely executed by an academic based team, the project resulted in approximately 38 peer-reviewed publications, 99 conference presentations, the development/expansion of several experimental facilities, and two provisional patents.

Nuclear Theory Authors: Vary, J.P. The vision of solving the nuclear many-body problem with fundamental interactions tied to QCD appears to approach reality. The goals are to preserve the predictive power of the underlying theory, to test fundamental symmetries with the nucleus as laboratory and to develop new understandings of the full range of complex nuclear phenomena. Recent progress includes the derivation, within chiral perturbation theory (ChPT), of the leading terms of the nucleon

Russia is facing technical, economic and organizational difficulties in dismantling its oversized and unsafe fleet of nuclearpowered submarines. The inability of Russia to deal effectively with the submarine decommissioning crisis increases the risk of environmental disaster and may hamper the implementation of the START I and START II treaties. This paper discusses the nuclear fleet support infrastructure, the problems of submarine decommissioning, and recommends international cooperation in addressing these problems.

Available in abstract form only. Full text of publication follows: Iraq's former nuclearfacilities contain large quantities of radioactive materials and radioactive waste. The Iraq NuclearFacility Dismantlement and Disposal Program (the Iraq NDs Program) is a new program to decontaminate and permanently dispose of radioactive wastes in Iraq. The NDs Program is led by the Government of Iraq, under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) auspices, with guidance and assistance from a number of countries. The U.S. participants include Texas Tech University and Sandia National Laboratories. A number of activities are ongoing under the broad umbrella of the Iraq NDs Program: drafting a new nuclear law that will provide the legal basis for the cleanup and disposal activities; assembly and analysis of existing data; characterization of soil contamination; bringing Iraqi scientists to the world's largest symposium on radioactive waste management; touring U.S. government and private sector operating radwaste disposal facilities in the U.S., and hosting a planning workshop on the characterization and cleanup of the Al-Tuwaitha NuclearFacility. (authors)

The Al Tuwaitha nuclear complex near Baghdad contains a number of facilities from Saddam Hussan's nuclear weapons program. Past military operations, lack of upkeep and looting have created an enormous radioactive waste problem at the Al Tuwaitha complex, which contains various, uncharacterized radioactive wastes, yellow cake, sealed radioactive sources, and contaminated metals that must be constantly guarded. Iraq has never had a radioactive waste disposal facility and the lack of a disposal facility means that ever increasing quantities of radioactive material must be held in guarded storage. The Iraq NuclearFacility Dismantlement and Disposal Program (the NDs Program) has been initiated by the U.S. Department of State (DOS) to assist the Government of Iraq (GOI) in eliminating the threats from poorly controlled radioactive materials, while building human capacities so that the GOI can manage other environmental cleanups in their country. The DOS is funding the IAEA to provide technical assistance via Technical Cooperation projects. Program coordination will be provided by the DOS, consistent with GOI policies, and Sandia National Laboratories will be responsible for coordination of participants and waste management support. Texas Tech University will continue to provide in-country assistance, including radioactive waste characterization and the stand-up of the Iraq Nuclear Services Company. The GOI owns the problems in Iraq and will be responsible for implementation of the NDs Program.

The Guide was developed in support of DOE O 226.1B to provide guidance that may be useful to DOE line management organizations in meeting the provisions of that order when applied to nuclearfacilities. Supersedes DOE G 226.1-2

The Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) facilities for Nuclear Science consist of a high-energy "white" neutron source (Target 4) with 6 flight paths, three low-energy nuclear science flight paths at the Lujan Center, and a proton reaction area. The neutron beams produced at the Target 4 complement those produced at the Lujan Center because they are of much higher energy and have shorter pulse widths. The neutron sources are driven by the 800-MeV proton beam of the LANSCE linear accelerator. With these facilities, LANSCE is able to deliver neutrons with energies ranging from a milli-electron volt to several hundreds of MeV, as well as proton beams with a wide range of energy, time and intensity characteristics. The facilities, instruments and research programs are described briefly.

4 Updates available at: www.energy.gov/ne NEXT UPDATE - July 2014 Page 1 News Updates ď‚« On February 20, Secretary Moniz announced the issuance of loan guarantees totalling approximately $6.5 billion to Georgia Power Company and Oglethorpe Power Company for the construction of two new nuclear reactors at the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant. The Department continues to work on the remaining conditional commitment for a $1.8 billion loan guarantee to Municipal Electric Authority of

The fuel cycle facility (FCF) at the Idaho National Laboratory is a nuclearfacility which must be licensed in order to operate. A safety analysis is required for a license. This paper describes the analysis of the Design Basis Accident for this facility. This analysis involves a model of the transient behavior of the FCF inert atmosphere hot cell following an earthquake initiated breach of pipes passing through the cell boundary. The hot cell is used to process spent metallic nuclear fuel. Such breaches allow the introduction of air and subsequent burning of pyrophoric metals. The model predicts the pressure, temperature, volumetric releases, cell heat transfer, metal fuel combustion, heat generation rates, radiological releases and other quantities. The results show that releases from the cell are minimal and satisfactory for safety. This analysis method should be useful in other facilities that have potential for damage from an earthquake and could eliminate the need to back fit facilities with earthquake proof boundaries or lessen the cost of new facilities.

The National Ignition Facility (NIF), currently under construction at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, will provide unprecedented opportunities for the use of nuclear diagnostics in inertial confinement fusion experiments. The completed facility will provide 2 MJ of laser energy for driving targets, compared to the approximately 40 kJ that was available on Nova and the approximately 30 kJ available on Omega. Ignited NIF targets are anticipated to produce up to 10{sup 19} DT neutrons. In addition to a basic set of nuclear diagnostics based on previous experience, these higher NIF yields are expected to allow innovative nuclear diagnostic techniques to be utilized, such as neutron imaging, recoil proton techniques, and gamma-ray-based reaction history measurements.

Administration | (NNSA) National Laser User Facilities Program National Laser Users' Facility Grant Program Overview The Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) at the University of Rochester (UR) was established in 1970 to investigate the interaction of high power lasers with matter. It is home of the Omega Laser Facility that includes OMEGA, a 30 kJ UV 60-beam laser system (at a wavelength of 0.35 mm) and OMEGA EP, a four-beam, high-energy, laser system with up to 26 kJ UV. Two of the OMEGA

This patent describes a method of obtaining a flatter flux and more uniform power generation across the core of a nuclear reactor. The method comprises using moderator elements having differing moderating strength. The elements have an increasing amount of the better moderating material as a function of radial and/or axial distance from the reactor core center. (AEC)

Nuclear energy is probably unique in being an international endeavor. The US was correct in 1973 in embracing nuclear energy, and is correct even today in continuing to champion and push this technology. Several major events justify this view. They include: the world's growing dependence on oil and America's increasing dependence on the unstable Middle East; steady high growth in electricity demand; culminated in this summer's record peak demands across the country, and while it was a hot summer, most of that increased demand was industrial activity-economic activity-not due to heat and renewed emphasis on the environment. The job of nuclear utilities and manufacturers is to work with continuity towards greater reliability, safety, and economy of our plants as they exist today. Nuclearpower offers clear objective advantages if one is able to look beyond the illusions of the immediate situation. Taipower believes that nuclearpower should be the major energy resource for Taiwan in the future. The first problem facing Taipower is the long lead time required for project approval. The second problem Taipower faces is the difficulty in obtaining a public consensus. Three main rational and irrational reasons are decisive for this future development of nuclear energy in Germany: energy structure, economics, and public acceptance. The use of nuclear energy is ethically not irresponsible, but it is ethically irresponsible not to use nuclear energy. A lot of modifications on the European plants have taken place to try to minimize the chance of having an accident and, in case it should happen, to limit the consequences. Another problem is waste deposits. As long as there is no answer to this question, the public will continue to debate on this issue.

FacilitiesFacilities LANL's mission is to develop and apply science and technology to ensure the safety, security, and reliability of the U.S. nuclear deterrent; reduce global threats; and solve other emerging national security and energy challenges. Contact Operator Los Alamos National Laboratory (505) 667-5061 Some LANL facilities are available to researchers at other laboratories, universities, and industry. Unique facilities foster experimental science, support the Lab's security mission

Developing automated methods for data collection and analysis that can facilitate nuclearnonproliferation assessment is an important research area with significant consequences for the effective global deployment of nuclear energy. Facilitymodeling that can integrate and interpret observations collected from monitored facilities in order to ascertain their functional details will be a critical element of these methods. Although improvements are continually sought, existing facilitymodeling tools can characterize all aspects of reactor operations and the majority of nuclear fuel cycle processing steps, and include algorithms for data processing and interpretation. Assessing nonproliferation status is challenging because observations can come from many sources, including local and remote sensors that monitor facility operations, as well as open sources that provide specific business information about the monitored facilities, and can be of many different types. Although many current facility models are capable of analyzing large amounts of information, they have not been integrated in an analyst-friendly manner. This paper addresses some of these facilitymodelingcapabilities and illustrates how they could be integrated and utilized for nonproliferationanalysis. The inverse problem of inferring facility conditions based on collected observations is described, along with a proposed architecture and computer framework for utilizing facilitymodeling tools. After considering a representative sampling of key facilitymodelingcapabilities, the proposed integration framework is illustrated with several examples.

5 Updates available at: www.energy.gov/ne NEXT UPDATE - October 2015 Page 1 News Updates ď‚« DTE Energy has received a license to build and operate an ESBWR light water reactor at its Fermi site in Newport, Michigan; the company has not committed to building a new plant, but is retaining the option for long-term planning purposes. ď‚« The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has voted to grant the Director of Nuclear Reactor Regulation authority to issue a full power operating license to Tennessee

This conference was sponsored by the Energy Resources Center, University of Illinois at Chicago; the US Department of Energy; the Illinois Energy Resources Commission; and the Illinois Department of Energy and Natural Resources. The theme for the conference, Coal and NuclearPower: Illinois' Energy Future, was based on two major observations: (1) Illinois has the largest reserves of bituminous coal of any state and is surpassed in total reserves only by North Dakota, and Montana; and (2) Illinois has made a heavy commitment to the use of nuclearpower as a source of electrical power generation. Currently, nuclearpower represents 30% of the electrical energy produced in the State. The primary objective of the 1982 conference was to review these two energy sources in view of the current energy policy of the Reagan Administration, and to examine the impact these policies have on the Midwest energy scene. The conference dealt with issues unique to Illinois as well as those facing the entire nation. A separate abstract was prepared for each of the 30 individual presentations.

A nuclear reactor is a complex system that requires highly sophisticated controllers to ensure that desired performance and safety can be achieved and maintained during its operations. Higher-demanding operational requirements such as reliability, lower environmental impacts, and improved performance under adverse conditions in nuclearpower plants, coupled with the complexity and uncertainty of the models, necessitate the use of an increased level of autonomy in the control methods. In the opinion of many researchers, the tasks involved during nuclear reactor design and operation (e.g., design optimization, transient diagnosis, and core reload optimization) involve important human cognition and decisions that may be more easily achieved with intelligent methods such as expert systems, fuzzy logic, neural networks, and genetic algorithms. Many experts in the field of control systems share the idea that a higher degree of autonomy in control of complex systems such as nuclear plants is more easily achievable through the integration of conventional control systems and the intelligent components. Researchers have investigated the feasibility of the integration of fuzzy logic, neural networks, genetic algorithms, and expert systems with the conventional control methods to achieve higher degrees of autonomy in different aspects of reactor operations such as reactor startup, shutdown in emergency situations, fault detection and diagnosis, nuclear reactor alarm processing and diagnosis, and reactor load-following operations, to name a few. With the advancement of new technologies and computing power, it is feasible to automate most of the nuclear reactor control and operation, which will result in increased safety and economical benefits. This study surveys current status, practices, and recent advances made towards developing autonomous control systems for nuclear reactors.

Biomass-based ethanol and nuclearpower are two viable elements in the path to U.S. energy independence. Numerous studies suggest nuclearpower could provide a practical carbon-free heat source alternative for the production of biomass-based ethanol. In order for this coupling to occur, it is necessary to examine the interfacial requirements of both nuclearpower plants and bioethanol refineries. This report describes the proposed characteristics of a small cogeneration nuclearpower plant, a biochemical process-based cellulosic bioethanol refinery, and a thermochemical process-based cellulosic biorefinery. Systemic and interfacial issues relating to the co-location of either type of bioethanol facility with a nuclearpower plant are presented and discussed. Results indicate future co-location efforts will require a new optimized energy strategy focused on overcoming the interfacial challenges identified in the report.

In 2010, the NEA in conjunction with the International Energy Agency produced an analysis of the Projected Costs of Electricity for almost 200 power plants, covering nuclear, fossil fuel and renewable electricity generation. That analysis used lifetime costs to consider the merits of each technology. However, the lifetime cost analysis is less applicable in liberalised markets and does not look specifically at the viewpoint of the private investor. A follow-up NEA assessment of the competitiveness of nuclear energy against coal- and gas-fired generation under carbon pricing has considered just this question. The economic competition in electricity markets is today between nuclear energy and gas-fired power generation, with coal-fired power generation not being competitive as soon as even modest carbon pricing is introduced. Whether nuclear energy or natural gas comes out ahead in their competition depends on a number of assumptions, which, while all entirely reasonable, yield very different outcomes. The analysis in this study has been developed on the basis of daily data from European power markets over the last five-year period. Three different methodologies, a Profit Analysis looking at historic returns over the past five years, an Investment Analysis projecting the conditions of the past five years over the lifetime of plants and a Carbon Tax Analysis (differentiating the Investment Analysis for different carbon prices) look at the issue of competitiveness from different angles. They show that the competitiveness of nuclear energy depends on a number of variables which in different configurations determine whether electricity produced from nuclearpower or from CCGTs generates higher profits for its investors. These are overnight costs, financing costs, gas prices, carbon prices, profit margins (or mark-ups), the amount of coal with carbon capture and electricity prices. This paper will present the outcomes of the analysis in the context of a liberalised

About Z Picture of Z Machine Sandia's Z machine is Earth's most powerful pulsed-powerfacility and X-ray generator. Z compresses energy in time and space to achieve extreme powers and intensities, found nowhere else on Earth. In approximately 200 shots Z fires every year, the machine uses currents of about 26 million amps to reach peak X-ray emissions of 350 terawatts and an X-ray output of 2.7 megajoules. The Z machine is located in Albuquerque, N.M., and is part of Sandia's Pulsed Power

Verification and validation of design and modeling activities for radioisotope powered Mars Hopper platforms undertaken at the Center for Space Nuclear Research is essential for proof of concept. Previous research at the center has driven the selection of advanced material combinations; some of which require specialized handling capabilities. The development of a closed and contained test facility to forward this research is discussed within this paper.

Used nuclear fuel from the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) was recently transferred to the Idaho National Laboratory and processed by pyroprocessing in the Fuel Conditioning Facility. Approximately 213 kg of uranium from sodium-bonded metallic FFTF fuel was processed over a one year period with the equipment previously used for the processing of EBR-II used fuel. The peak burnup of the FFTF fuel ranged from 10 to 15 atom% for the 900+ chopped elements processed. Fifteen low-enriched uranium ingots were cast following the electrorefining and distillation operations to recover approximately 192 kg of uranium. A material balance on the primary fuel constituents, uranium and zirconium, during the FFTF campaign will be presented along with a brief description of operating parameters. Recoverable uranium during the pyroprocessing of FFTF nuclear fuel was greater than 95% while the purity of the final electrorefined uranium products exceeded 99%.

Used nuclear fuel from the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) was recently transferred to the Idaho National Laboratory and processed by pyroprocessing in the Fuel Conditioning Facility. Approximately 213 kg of uranium from sodium-bonded metallic FFTF fuel was processed over a one year period with the equipment previously used for the processing of EBR-II used fuel. The peak burnup of the FFTF fuel ranged from 10 to 15 atom% for the 900+ chopped elements processed. Fifteen low-enriched uranium ingots were cast following the electrorefining and distillation operations to recover approximately 192 kg of uranium. A material balance on the primary fuel constituents, uranium and zirconium, during the FFTF campaign will be presented along with a brief description of operating parameters. Recoverable uranium during the pyroprocessing of FFTF nuclear fuel was greater than 95% while the purity of the final electro-refined uranium products exceeded 99%. (authors)

Integrated energy, environment and economics modeling suggests that worldwide electrical energy use will increase from 2.4 TWe today to ~12 TWe in 2100. It will be challenging to provide 40% of this electrical power from combustion with carbon sequestration, as it will be challenging to provide 30% from renewable energy sources derived from natural energy flows. Thus nuclearpower may be needed to provide ~30%, 3600 GWe, by 2100. Calculations of the associated stocks and flows of uranium, plutonium and minor actinides indicate that the proliferation risks at mid-century, using current light-water reactor technology, are daunting. There are institutional arrangements that may be able to provide an acceptable level of risk mitigation, but they will be difficult to implement. If a transition is begun to fast-spectrum reactors at mid-century, without a dramatic change in the proliferation risks of such systems, at the end of the century global nuclear proliferation risks are much greater, and more resistant to mitigation. Fusion energy, if successfully demonstrated to be economically competitive, would provide a source of nuclearpower with much lower proliferation risks than fission.

Items are shown that have caused 90% of the nuclear unit outages and/or deratings between 1971 and 1980 and the magnitude of the problem indicated by an estimate of power replacement cost when the units are out of service or derated. The funding EPRI has provided on these specific items for R and D and technology transfer in the past and the funding planned in the future (1982 to 1986) are shown. EPRI's R and D may help the utilities on only a small part of their nuclear unit outage problems. For example, refueling is the major cause for nuclear unit outages or deratings and the steam turbine is the second major cause for nuclear unit outages; however, these two items have been ranked fairly low on the EPRI priority list for R and D funding. Other items such as nuclear safety (NRC requirements), reactor general, reactor and safety valves and piping, and reactor fuel appear to be receiving more priority than is necessary as determined by analysis of nuclear unit outage causes.

Security Administration | (NNSA) Underground Facility at Nevada National Security Site The U1a Complex is an underground laboratory at the Nevada National Security Site used for dynamic experiments with special nuclear material (SNM) and other weapon materials. The Complex provides an infrastructure of high-bandwidth diagnostics, data acquisition, timing and firing, control and monitor systems capable of supporting experiments designed to acquire information on fundamental materials

The purpose of this Guide is to provide U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) line management with guidance that may be useful to them in effectively and efficiently implementing the requirements of DOE O 226.1B, Implementation of Department of Energy Oversight Policy, date April 25, 2011, as applied to Federal line management of hazard category 1, 2, and 3 nuclearfacilities.

This document contains compiled data from the DOE Handbook on Airborne Release Fractions/Rates and Respirable Fractions for Nonreactor Nuclearfacilities. Source data and example facilities utilized, such as the Plutonium Recovery Facility, are included.

Hydrogen explosions may occur simultaneously with water hammer accidents in nuclearfacilities, and a theoretical mechanism to relate water hammer to hydrogen deflagrations and explosions is presented herein. Hydrogen and oxygen generation due to the radiolysis of water is a recognized hazard in pipe systems used in the nuclear industry, where the accumulation of hydrogen and oxygen at high points in the pipe system is expected, and explosive conditions may occur. Pipe ruptures in nuclear reactor cooling systems were attributed to hydrogen explosions inside pipelines, i.e., Hamaoka, NuclearPower Station in Japan, and Brunsbuettel in Germany. Prior to these accidents, an ignition source for hydrogen was not clearly demonstrated, but these accidents demonstrated that a mechanism was, in fact, available to initiate combustion and explosion. A new theory to identify an ignition source and explosion cause is presented here, and further research is recommended to fully understand this explosion mechanism.

energy is an important source of power, supplying 20 percent of the nation's electricity. More than 100 nuclearpower plants are operating in the U.S., and countries around the world are implementing nuclearpower as a carbon-free alternative to fossil fuels. We can maximize the climate and energy security benefits provided by responsible global nuclear energy expansion by developing options to increase the energy extracted from nuclear fuel, improve waste management, and strengthen nuclear

Traditional engineering methods do not make provision for the integration of human considerations, while traditional human factors methods do not scale well to the complexity of large-scale nuclearpower plant projects. Although the need for up-to-date human factors engineering processes and tools is recognised widely in industry, so far no formal guidance has been developed. This article proposes such a framework.

Watch how NREL researchers are using the Smart Power Laboratory at the Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) to develop technologies that will help the "smart homes" of the future perform efficiently and communicate effectively with the electricity grid while enhancing occupants' comfort and convenience.

Administration | (NNSA) National Laser Users' Facility Grant Program The Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) at the University of Rochester (UR) was established in 1970 to investigate the interaction of high power lasers with matter. It is home of the Omega Laser Facility that includes OMEGA, a 30 kJ UV 60-beam laser system (at a wavelength of 0.35 mm) and OMEGA EP, a four-beam, high energy, laser system with up to 26 kJ UV. Two of the OMEGA EP beamlines can also be operated as

Safeguards by Design (SbD) is a well-known paradigm for consideration and incorporation of safeguards approaches and associated design features early in the nuclearfacility development process. This paradigm has been developed as part of the Next Generation Safeguards Initiative (NGSI), and has been accepted as beneficial in many discussions and papers on NGSI or specific technologies under development within NGSI. The Office of Nuclear Safeguards and Security funded the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to examine the business case justification of SbD for nuclearpower reactors. Ultimately, the implementation of SbD will rely on the designers of nuclearfacilities. Therefore, it is important to assess the incentives which will lead designers to adopt SbD as a standard practice for nuclearfacility design. This report details the extent to which designers will have compelling economic incentives to adopt SbD.

Nuclearpower is an important source of electric energy and the amount of nuclear-generated electricity continued to grow as the performance of nuclearpower plants improved. In 1996, nuclearpower plants supplied 23 percent of the electricity production for countries with nuclear units, and 17 percent of the total electricity generated worldwide. However, the likelihood of nuclearpower assuming a much larger role or even retaining its current share of electricity generation production is uncertain. The industry faces a complex set of issues including economic competitiveness, social acceptance, and the handling of nuclear waste, all of which contribute to the uncertain future of nuclearpower. Nevertheless, for some countries the installed nuclear generating capacity is projected to continue to grow. Insufficient indigenous energy resources and concerns over energy independence make nuclear electric generation a viable option, especially for the countries of the Far East.

Facilities The the WTGa1 turbine (aka DOE/SNL #1) retuns to power as part of a final series of commissioning tests. Permalink Gallery First Power for SWiFT Turbine Achieved during Recommissioning Facilities, News, Renewable Energy, SWIFT, Wind Energy, Wind News First Power for SWiFT Turbine Achieved during Recommissioning The Department of Energy's Scaled Wind Farm Technology (SWiFT) Facility reached an exciting milestone with the return to power production of the WTGa1 turbine (aka DOE/SNL #1)

The estimation of the radiological inventory of NuclearFacilities to be dismantled is a process that included information related with the physical inventory of all the plant and radiological survey. Estimation of the radiological inventory for all the components and civil structure of the plant could be obtained with mathematical models with statistical approach. A computer application has been developed in order to obtain the radiological inventory in an automatic way. Results: A computer application that is able to estimate the radiological inventory from the radiological measurements or the characterization program has been developed. In this computer applications has been included the statistical functions needed for the estimation of the central tendency and variability, e.g. mean, median, variance, confidence intervals, variance coefficients, etc. This computer application is a necessary tool in order to be able to estimate the radiological inventory of a nuclearfacility and it is a powerful tool for decision taken in future sampling surveys.

Vogtle NuclearPower Plant Secretary Chu Visits Vogtle NuclearPower Plant February 15, 2012 - 3:54pm Addthis Secretary Chu traveled to Waynesboro, Georgia, to visit the Vogtle nuclearpower plant, the site of what will be the first new nuclear reactors to be built in the United States in three decades. | Image credit: Southern Company. Secretary Chu traveled to Waynesboro, Georgia, to visit the Vogtle nuclearpower plant, the site of what will be the first new nuclear reactors to be built in

This bibliography contains 693 references with abstracts on the subject of nuclearfacility decommissioning, uranium mill tailings management, and site remedial actions. Foreign, as well as domestic, literature of all types - technical reports, progress reports, journal articles, conference papers, symposium proceedings, theses, books, patents, legislation, and research project descriptions - has been included in this publication. The bibliography contains scientific (basic research as well as applied technology), economic, regulatory, and legal literature pertinent to the US Department of Energy's Remedial Action Program. Major chapters are Surplus Facilities Management Program, NuclearFacilities Decommissioning, Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program, Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Program, Grand Junction Remedial Action Program, and Uranium Mill Tailings Management. Chapter sections for chapters 1 and 2 include: Design, Planning, and Regulations; Site Surveys; Decontamination Studies; Dismantlement and Demolition; Land Decontamination and Reclamation; Waste Disposal; and General Studies. The references within each chapter are arranged alphabetically by leading author. References having no individual author are arranged by corporate author or by title. Indexes are provided for (1) author; (2) corporate affiliation; (3) title; (4) publication description; (5) geographic location; and (6) keywords. An appendix of 202 bibliographic references without abstracts or indexes has been included in this bibliography. This appendix represents literature identified but not abstracted due to time constraints.

In a period of approximately 40 years prior to 1994, the German Federal Government had spent about {approx} 15 billion to promote nuclear technology. These funds were earmarked for R&D projects as well as demonstration facilities which took up operation between 1960 and 1980. These BMBF (Federal Ministry for Research) facilities were mainly located at the sites of the federal research centers at Juelich and Karlsruhe (the research reactors AVR, FR2, FRJ-1, KNK, and MZFR, the pilot reprocessing plant WAK) but included also the pilot plants SNR-300 and THTR-300 for fast breeder and high-temperature gas-cooled reactor development, respectively, and finally the salt mine Asse which had been used for waste emplacement prior to conversion into an underground research laboratory. In the meantime, almost all of these facilities were shut down and are now in a state of decommissioning and dismantling. This is mainly due to the facts that R&D needs are satisfied or do not exist any more and that, secondly, the lack of political consensus led to the cancellation of advanced nuclear technology.

In the six months after the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclearpower plant accident in Japan, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) took several actions to review the safety of its nuclearfacilities and identify situations where near-term improvements could be made. These actions and recommendations were addressed in an August 2011 report to the Secretary of Energy, Review of Requirements and Capabilities for Analyzing and Responding to Beyond Design Basis Events.

The objective of this project is to evaluate hot gas particle control technologies using coal-derived gas streams. This will entail the design, construction, installation, and use of a flexible test facility which can operate under realistic gasification and combustion conditions. The major particulate control device issues to be addressed include the integration of the particulate control devices into coal utilization systems, on-line cleaning techniques, chemical and thermal degradation of components, fatigue or structural failures, blinding, collection efficiency as a fimction of particle size, and scale-up of particulate control systems to commercial size. The conceptual design of the facility was extended to include a within scope, phased expansion of the existing Hot Gas Cleanup Test Facility Cooperative Agreement to also address systems integration issues of hot particulate removal in advanced coal-based power generation systems. This expansion included the consideration of the following modules at the test facility in addition to the original Transport Reactor gas source and hot gas cleanup units: carbonizer/pressurized circulating fluidized bed gas source; hot gas cleanup units to mate to all gas streams; combustion gas turbine; and fuel cell and associated gas treatment. This expansion to the Hot Gas Cleanup Test Facility is herein referred to as the Power Systems Development Facility (PSDF). The major emphasis during this reporting period was continuing the detailed design of the facility towards completion and integrating the balance-of-plant processes and particulate control devices (PCDS) into the structural and process designs. Substantial progress in construction activities was achieved during the quarter. Delivery and construction of the process structural steel is nearing completion. Nearly all equipment are set in its place and the FW equipment and the PCDs are being set in the structure.

Security Administration | (NNSA) Dual Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test Facility An integral part of the national hydrotest program, the DARHT is the world's most powerful x-ray machine. DARHT consists of two electron accelerators oriented at right angles to one another. Each accelerator creates a powerful electron beam that is focused onto a metal target which converts the kinetic energy of the electron beam into high energy x or gamma-rays. The x-ray dose from one DARHT accelerator is

To help meet the nationâ€™s energy needs, recycling of partially used nuclear fuel is required to close the nuclear fuel cycle, but implementing this step will require considerable investment. This report evaluates financing scenarios for integrating recycling facilities into the nuclear fuel cycle. A range of options from fully government owned to fully private owned were evaluated using DPL (Decision Programming Language 6.0), which can systematically optimize outcomes based on user-defined criteria (e.g., lowest lifecycle cost, lowest unit cost). This evaluation concludes that the lowest unit costs and lifetime costs are found for a fully government-owned financing strategy, due to government forgiveness of debt as sunk costs. However, this does not mean that the facilities should necessarily be constructed and operated by the government. The costs for hybrid combinations of public and private (commercial) financed options can compete under some circumstances with the costs of the government option. This analysis shows that commercial operations have potential to be economical, but there is presently no incentive for private industry involvement. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) currently establishes government ownership of partially used commercial nuclear fuel. In addition, the recently announced Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) suggests fuels from several countries will be recycled in the United States as part of an international governmental agreement; this also assumes government ownership. Overwhelmingly, uncertainty in annual facility capacity led to the greatest variations in unit costs necessary for recovery of operating and capital expenditures; the ability to determine annual capacity will be a driving factor in setting unit costs. For private ventures, the costs of capital, especially equity interest rates, dominate the balance sheet; and the annual operating costs, forgiveness of debt, and overnight costs dominate the costs computed for

Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) is one of the nation's largest research and development (R&D) facilities, with headquarters at Albuquerque, New Mexico; a laboratory at Livermore, California; and a test range near Tonopah, Nevada. Smaller testing facilities are also operated at other locations. Established in 1945, Sandia was operated by the University of California until 1949, when, at the request of President Truman, Sandia Corporation was formed as a subsidiary of Bell Lab's Western Electric Company to operate Sandia as a service to the U.S. Government without profit or fee. Sandia is currently operated for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) by AT&T Technologies, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of AT&T. Sandia's responsibility is national security programs in defense and energy with primary emphasis on nuclear weapon research and development (R&D). However, Sandia also supports a wide variety of projects ranging from basic materials research to the design of specialized parachutes. Assets, owned by DOE and valued at more than $1.2 billion, include about 600 major buildings containing about 372,000 square meters (m2) (4 million square feet [ft2]) of floor space, located on land totalling approximately 1460 square kilometers (km2) (562 square miles [mi]). Sandia employs about 8500 people, the majority in Albuquerque, with about 1000 in Livermore. Approximately 60% of Sandia's employees are in technical and scientific positions, and the remainder are in crafts, skilled labor, and administrative positions. As a multiprogram national laboratory, Sandia has much to offer both industrial and government customers in pursuing space nuclear technologies. The purpose of this brochure is to provide the reader with a brief summary of Sandia's technical capabilities, test facilities, and example programs that relate to military and civilian objectives in space. Sandia is interested in forming partnerships with industry and government organizations, and has already

Expanding Options for NuclearPower Expanding Options for NuclearPower April 15, 2013 - 10:12am Addthis The development of clean, affordable nuclearpower options is a key element of the Energy Department's Nuclear Energy Research and Development Roadmap. As a part of this strategy, a high priority of the Department has been to help accelerate the timelines for the commercialization and deployment of small modular reactor (SMR) technologies through the SMR Licensing Technical Support program. |

7 - Waste from NuclearPower Plants Lesson 7 - Waste from NuclearPower Plants This lesson takes a look at the waste from electricity production at nuclearpower plants. It considers the different types of waste generated, as well as how we deal with each type of waste. Specific topics covered include: Nuclear Waste Some radioactive Types of radioactive waste Low-level waste High-level waste Disposal and storage Low-level waste disposal Spent fuel storage Waste isolation Reprocessing

Plants | Department of Energy Conditional Agreement for New NuclearPower Plants Department of Energy Releases Conditional Agreement for New NuclearPower Plants September 25, 2007 - 2:49pm Addthis Marks initial step for sponsors of new nuclear plants to qualify for up to $2 billion in federal risk insurance WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Samuel W. Bodman today released a Conditional Agreement for companies building new nuclearpower plants in the United

This report presents the current status and projections through 2015 of nuclear capacity, generation, and fuel cycle requirements for all countries using nuclearpower to generate electricity for commercial use. It also contains information and forecasts of developments in the worldwide nuclear fuel market. Long term projections of U.S. nuclear capacity, generation, and spent fuel discharges for two different scenarios through 2040 are developed. A discussion on decommissioning of nuclearpower plants is included.

Development and Financing of New Nuclear Projects | Department of Energy Financing of New Nuclear Projects International Working Group Meeting Focuses on NuclearPower Infrastructure Development and Financing of New Nuclear Projects December 15, 2009 - 1:09pm Addthis VIENNA, AUSTRIA - The multi-nation Infrastructure Development Working Group (IDWG) held its fifth meeting and also a workshop on the financing of international nuclearpower projects in Vienna, Austria, on December 9-10, 2009.

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) will provide up to 1.8 MJ of laser energy for imploding inertial confinement fusion (ICF) targets. Ignited NIF targets are expected to produce up to 10{sup 19} DT neutrons. This will provide unprecedented opportunities and challenges for the use of nuclear diagnostics in ICF experiments. In 2005, the suite of nuclear-ignition diagnostics for the NIF was defined and they are under development through collaborative efforts at several institutions. This suite includes PROTEX and copper activation for primary yield measurements, a magnetic recoil spectrometer and carbon activation for fuel areal density, neutron time-of-flight detectors for yield and ion temperature, a gamma bang time detector, and neutron imaging systems for primary and downscattered neutrons. An overview of the conceptual design, the developmental status, and recent results of prototype tests on the OMEGA laser will be presented.

Intent of these guidelines is to provide design and design review teams of DOE nuclearfacilities with human factors principles to enhance the design and aid in the inspection of DOE nuclearfacilities, systems, and equipment. These guidelines are concerned with design features of DOE nuclearfacilities which can potentially affect preventive and corrective maintenance of systems within DOE nuclearfacilities. Maintenance includes inspecting, checking, troubleshooting, adjusting, replacing, repairing, and servicing activities. Other factors which influence maintainability such as repair and maintenance suport facilities, maintenance information, and various aspects of the environment are also addressed.

Construction | Department of Energy Loan Guarantee Applications for NuclearPower Plant Construction DOE Announces Loan Guarantee Applications for NuclearPower Plant Construction October 2, 2008 - 3:43pm Addthis WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced it has received 19 Part I applications from 17 electric power companies for federal loan guarantees to support the construction of 14 nuclearpower plants in response to its June 30, 2008 solicitation. The

New problems have arisen over the ability to wheel power from decentralized cogeneration and small generation sources between electric utilities or between industrial facilities within a common geographical area. This article explores the historical and current positions of the Federal Power Commission, now the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as it has interpreted its authority under Part II of the Federal Power Act to order the wheeling of electric power. The authors also outline and discuss related antitrust issues which often arise within the context of wheeling and the possibilities of recognizing potential antitrust violations as a factor in promoting wheeling arrangements. Concluding that Congress will not address the issue, they recommend the negotiation of wheeling rates by project sponsors to introduce flexibility and avoid more regulation and costly antitrust litigation. 21 references.

The purpose of this research was to collect, analyze, and summarize all of the nuclearpower-related surveys conducted in the United States through June 1981, that we could obtain. The surveys collected were national, statewide, and areawide in scope. Slightly over 100 surveys were collected for an earlier, similar effort carried out in 1977. About 130 new surveys were added to the earlier survey data. Thus, about 230 surveys were screened for inclusion in this report. Because of space limitations, national surveys were used most frequently in this report, followed distantly by state surveys. In drawing our conclusions about public beliefs and attitudes toward nuclearpower, we placed most of our confidence in survey questions that were used by national polling firms at several points in time. A summary of the research findings is presented, beginning with general attitudes toward nuclearpower, followed by a summary of beliefs and attitudes about nuclearpower issues, and ended by a summary of beliefs and attitudes regarding more general energy issues.

This Standard Review Plan (SRP), Application of Engineering and Technical Requirements for 30, 60 and 90% Design of DOE NuclearFacilities, was developed by the Office of Chief of Nuclear Safety (CNS), Office of the Environmental Management. The SRP is designed to help strengthen the technical rigor of line management oversight and federal monitoring of the design process of DOE nuclearfacilities.

This document contains human engineering guidelines which can enhance the maintainability of nuclearpower plants. The guidelines have been derived from general human engineering design principles, criteria, and data. The guidelines may be applied to existing plants as well as to plants under construction. They apply to nuclearpower plant systems, equipment and facilities, as well as to maintenance tools and equipment. The guidelines are grouped into seven categories: accessibility and workspace, physical environment, loads and forces, maintenance facilities, maintenance tools and equipment, operating equipment design, and information needs. Each chapter of the document details specific maintainability problems encountered at nuclearpower plants, the safety impact of these problems, and the specific maintainability design guidelines whose application can serve to avoid these problems in new or existing plants.

As of 2012, 23 units of nuclearpower plants are in operation, but there is no experience of permanent shutdown and decommissioning of nuclearpower plant in Korea. It is realized that, since late 1990's, improvement of the regulatory framework for decommissioning has been emphasized constantly from the point of view of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)'s safety standards. And it is known that now IAEA prepare the safety requirement on decommissioning of facilities, its title is the Safe Decommissioning of Facilities, General Safety Requirement Part 6. According to the result of IAEA's Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) mission to Korea in 2011, it was recommended that the regulatory framework for decommissioning should require decommissioning plans for nuclear installations to be constructed and operated and these plans should be updated periodically. In addition, after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in March of 2011, preparedness for early decommissioning caused by an unexpected severe accident became also important issues and concerns. In this respect, it is acknowledged that the regulatory framework for decommissioning of nuclearfacilities in Korea need to be improved. First of all, we identify the current status and relevant issues of regulatory framework for decommissioning of nuclearpower plants compared to the IAEA's safety standards in order to achieve our goal. And then the plan is to be established for improvement of regulatory framework for decommissioning of nuclearpower plants in Korea. After dealing with it, it is expected that the revised regulatory framework for decommissioning could enhance the safety regime on the decommissioning of nuclearpower plants in Korea in light of international standards. (authors)

Reactors in Georgia | Department of Energy Loan Guarantees to Construct New NuclearPower Reactors in Georgia President Obama Announces Loan Guarantees to Construct New NuclearPower Reactors in Georgia February 16, 2010 - 12:00am Addthis Washington D.C. --- Underscoring his Administration's commitment to jumpstarting the nation's nuclearpower industry, President Obama today announced that the Department of Energy has offered conditional commitments for a total of $8.33 billion in loan

Field Workers | Department of Energy Guidance for Deployment of Mobile Technologies for NuclearPower Plant Field Workers Guidance for Deployment of Mobile Technologies for NuclearPower Plant Field Workers This report is a guidance document prepared for the benefit of commercial nuclearpower plants' (NPPs) supporting organizations and personnel who are considering or undertaking deployment of mobile technology for the purpose of improving human performance and plant status control (PSC)

Harmonization NuclearPower Results - Life Cycle Assessment Harmonization Over the last 30 years, analysts have conducted life cycle assessments on the environmental impacts associated with a variety of nuclearpower technologies and systems. These life cycle assessments have had wide-ranging results. To better understand greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from nuclearpower systems, NREL completed a comprehensive review and analysis of life cycle assessments focused on light water reactors

This paper summarizes fatigue monitoring methods and surveys their application in the nuclearpower industry. The paper is based on a review of the technical literature. Two main reasons for fatigue monitoring are more frequent occurrence of some transients than that assumed in the fatigue design analysis and the discovery of stressors that were not included in the fatigue design analysis but may cause significant fatigue damage at some locations. One fatigue monitoring method involves use of plant operating data and procedures to update the fatigue usage. Another method involves monitoring of plant operating parameters using existing, or if needed, supplementary plant instrumentation for online computation of fatigue usage. Use of fatigue monitoring has better defined the operational transients. Most operational transients have been found less severe and fewer in numbers than anticipated in the design fatigue analysis. Use of fatigue monitoring has assisted in quantifying newly discovered stressors and has helped in detecting the presence of thermal stratification of unsuspected locations.

Revolutionary improvement of the nuclear plant safety and economy with light water reactors can be reached with the application of micro-fuel elements (MFE) directly cooled by a supercritical pressure light-water coolant-moderator. There are considerable advantages of the MFE as compared with the traditional fuel rods, such as: Using supercritical and superheated steam considerably increases the thermal efficiency of the Rankine cycle up to 44-45%. Strong negative coolant and void reactivity coefficients with a very short thermal delay time allow the reactor to shutdown quickly in the event of a reactivity or power excursion. Core melting and the creation of corium during severe accidents are impossible. The heat transfer surface area is larger by several orders of magnitude due to the small spherical dimensions of the MFE. The larger heat exchange surface significantly simplifies residual heat removal by natural convection and radiation from the core to a subsequent passive system of heat removal.

This document includes the Technical requirements which meet the nuclear safety objectives of the NRC regulations for fuel treatment and storage facilities. These include requirements regarding radiation exposure limits, safety analysis, design and construction. This document also includes administrative requirements which meet the objectives of the major elements of the NRC licensing process. These include formally documented design and safety analysis, independent technical review, and oppportunity for public involvement.

The YALINA facility is a zero-power, sub-critical assembly driven by a conventional neutron generator. It was conceived, constructed, and put into operation at the Radiation Physics and Chemistry Problems Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus located in Minsk-Sosny, Belarus. This facility was conceived for the purpose of investigating the static and dynamic neutronics properties of accelerator driven sub-critical systems, and to serve as a neutron source for investigating the properties of nuclear reactions, in particular transmutation reactions involving minor-actinide nuclei. This report provides a detailed description of this facility and documents the progress of research carried out there during a period of approximately a decade since the facility was conceived and built until the end of 2008. During its history of development and operation to date (1997-2008), the YALINA facility has hosted several foreign groups that worked with the resident staff as collaborators. The participation of Argonne National Laboratory in the YALINA research programs commenced in 2005. For obvious reasons, special emphasis is placed in this report on the work at YALINA facility that has involved Argonne's participation. Attention is given here to the experimental program at YALINA facility as well as to analytical investigations aimed at validating codes and computational procedures and at providing a better understanding of the physics and operational behavior of the YALINA facility in particular, and ADS systems in general, during the period 1997-2008.

DC power transmission from the Leningradskaya NuclearPower Plant (LAES) to city of Vyborg is proposed. This will provide a comprehensive solution to several important problems in the development and control of the unified power system (EES) of Russia.

Nuclear fission results in the production of fission products and activation products, some of which tend to be volatile during used fuel reprocessing. These can evolve in volatile species in the reprocessing facility off-gas streams, depending on the separations and reprocessing technologies that are used. Radionuclides that have been identified as â€śvolatile radionuclidesâ€ť are noble gases (most notably isotopes of Kr and Xe); 3H; 14C; and 129I. Radionuclides that tend to form volatile species that evolve into reprocessing facility off-gas systems are more challenging to efficiently control compared to radionuclides that tend to stay in solid or liquid phases. Future used fuel reprocessing facilities in the United States can require efficient capture of some volatile radionuclides in their off-gas streams to meet regulatory emission requirements. In aqueous reprocessing, these radionuclides are most commonly expected to evolve into off-gas streams in tritiated water [3H2O (T2O) and 3HHO (THO)], radioactive CO2, noble gases, and gaseous HI, I2, or volatile organic iodides. The fate and speciation of these radionuclides from a non-aqueous fuel reprocessing facility is less well known at this time, but active investigations are in progress. An Off-Gas Sigma Team was formed in late FY 2009 to integrate and coordinate the Fuel Cycle Research and Development (FCR&D) activities directed towards the capture and sequestration of the these volatile radionuclides (Jubin 2012a). The Sigma Team concept was envisioned to bring together multidisciplinary teams from across the DOE complex that would work collaboratively to solve the technical challenges and to develop the scientific basis for the capture and immobilization technologies such that the sum of the efforts was greater than the individual parts. The Laboratories currently participating in this effort are Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Pacific

The objective of this study was to determine if any fluids or materials used in the Exploratory Shaft Facility (ESF) of Yucca Mountain will make the mountain unsuitable for future construction of a nuclear waste repository. Yucca Mountain, an area on and adjacent to the Nevada Test Site in southern Nevada, USA, is a candidate site for permanent disposal of high-level radioactive waste from commercial nuclearpower and defense nuclear activities. To properly characterize Yucca Mountain, it will be necessary to construct an underground test facility, in which in situ site characterization tests can be conducted. The candidate repository horizon at Yucca Mountain, however, could potentially be compromised by fluids and materials used in the site characterization tests. To minimize this possibility, Los Alamos National Laboratory was directed to evaluate the kinds of fluids and materials that will be used and their potential impacts on the site. A secondary objective was to identify fluids and materials, if any, that should be prohibited from, or controlled in, the underground. 56 refs., 19 figs., 11 tabs.

In response to the post-Cold War environment and the changes in the U. S. Department of Energy defense mission, many former nuclear operations are being permanently shut down. These operations include facilities where nuclear materials production, processing, and weapons manufacturing have occurred in support of the nation`s defense industry. Since defense-related operations have ceased, many of the classification and sensitive information concerns do not exist. However, nuclear materials found at these sites are of interest to the DOE from environmental, safety and health, and materials management perspectives. Since these facilities played a role in defense activities, the nuclear materials found at these facilities are considered special nuclear materials, primarily highly enriched uranium and/or plutonium. Consequently, these materials pose significant diversion, theft, and sabotage threats, and significant nuclear security issues exist that must be addressed. This paper focuses on the nuclear materials protection issues associated with facility decommissioning and decontamination, primarily safeguards.

A review is made of the state of the art of volume reduction techniques for low level liquid and solid radioactive wastes produced as a result of: (1) operation of commercial nuclearpower plants, (2) storage of spent fuel in away-from-reactor facilities, and (3) decontamination/decommissioning of commercial nuclearpower plants. The types of wastes and their chemical, physical, and radiological characteristics are identified. Methods used by industry for processing radioactive wastes are reviewed and compared to the new techniques for processing and reducing the volume of radioactive wastes. A detailed system description and report on operating experiences follow for each of the new volume reduction techniques. In addition, descriptions of volume reduction methods presently under development are provided. The Appendix records data collected during site surveys of vendor facilities and operating power plants. A Bibliography is provided for each of the various volume reduction techniques discussed in the report.

Korea Hydro and NuclearPower Co., Ltd. (KHNP), a large electric company based in the Republic of Korea, operates 20 nuclearpower plants and has 8 more planned or under construction. The Korean government has given KHNP responsibility for permanent disposal of nuclear waste. The company has turned to Sandia' s Defense Waste Management Programs in Carlsbad, NM to lead an educational project for its staff on repository sciences based on Sandia's well- known expertise in the field. Sandia has

This paper discusses the technology considerations that guide the development of space nuclearpower sources (NPS) by the Department of Energy (DOE) to meet a wide variety of applications. The Department and its predecessor agencies have been developing NPS since the 1950s and producing NPS for spacecraft for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) since the early 1960s. No one nuclearpower type, isotope or reactor, will suffice over the entire range of mission power required. Nor is one type of power conversion system, be it static or dynamic, the optimum choice of all space nuclearpower system applications. There is a need for DOE, in partnership with its users, NASA and DOD, to develop a variety of types of space nuclearpower sources -- isotope-static, isotope-dynamic, reactor-static, and reactor-dynamic -- to meet mission requirements well into the next century. 2 figs., 1 tab.

In support of technology development to utilize coal for efficient, affordable, and environmentally clean power generation, the Power Systems Development Facility (PSDF), located in Wilsonville, Alabama, routinely demonstrates gasification technologies using various types of coals. The PSDF is an engineering scale demonstration of key features of advanced coal-fired power systems, including a KBR Transport Gasifier, a hot gas particulate control device, advanced syngas cleanup systems, and high-pressure solids handling systems. This report summarizes the results of TC22, the first test campaign using a high moisture lignite from Mississippi as the feedstock in the modified Transport Gasifier configuration. TC22 was conducted from March 24 to April 17, 2007. The gasification process was operated for 543 hours, increasing the total gasification operation at the PSDF to over 10,000 hours. The PSDF gasification process was operated in air-blown mode with a total of about 1,080 tons of coal. Coal feeder operation was challenging due to the high as-received moisture content of the lignite, but adjustments to the feeder operating parameters reduced the frequency of coal feeder trips. Gasifier operation was stable, and carbon conversions as high as 98.9 percent were demonstrated. Operation of the PCD and other support equipment such as the recycle gas compressor and ash removal systems operated reliably.

In support of technology development to utilize coal for efficient, affordable, and environmentally clean power generation, the Power Systems Development Facility (PSDF) located in Wilsonville, Alabama, routinely demonstrates gasification technologies using various types of coals. The PSDF is an engineering scale demonstration of key features of advanced coal-fired power systems, including a KBR Transport Gasifier, a hot gas particulate control device (PCD), advanced syngas cleanup systems, and high pressure solids handling systems. This report details Test Campaign TC18 of the PSDF gasification process. Test campaign TC18 began on June 23, 2005, and ended on August 22, 2005, with the gasifier train accumulating 1,342 hours of operation using Powder River Basin (PRB) subbituminous coal. Some of the testing conducted included commissioning of a new recycle syngas compressor for gasifier aeration, evaluation of PCD filter elements and failsafes, testing of gas cleanup technologies, and further evaluation of solids handling equipment. At the conclusion of TC18, the PSDF gasification process had been operated for more than 7,750 hours.

A large pressure vessel, which had been used to test relief valves in nuclearpower plants, needed to be demolished once all the tests had been completed. What made this particular project so unusual was the fact that the vessel had 10-in.-thick steel walls and was 30 ft tall. James Gezelman Welding was contracted for the demolition. The main challenge was converting the tank to [number sign]1 scrap steel, which meant no piece could be larger than 5 X 2 ft. Since the tank had 10-in.-thick walls, oxygasoline cutting equipment manufactured by Petrogen Co. was chosen for the job. The reasons for this decision were cost-effectiveness, speed and safety.

This report documents work performed in support of the US Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energyâ€™s Advanced Small Modular Reactor (AdvSMR) program. The report presents information and results from economic analyses to describe current electricity market conditions and those key factors that may impact the deployment of AdvSMRs or any other new nuclearpower plants. Thus, this report serves as a reference document for DOE as it moves forward with its plans to develop advanced reactors, including AdvSMRs. For the purpose of this analysis, information on electricity markets and nuclearpower plant operating costs will be combined to examine the current state of the nuclear industry and the process required to successfully move forward with new nuclearpower in general and AdvSMRs in particular. The current electricity market is generally unfavorable to new nuclear construction, especially in deregulated markets with heavy competition from natural gas and subsidized renewables. The successful and profitable operation of a nuclearpower plant (or any power plant) requires the rate at which the electricity is sold to be sufficiently greater than the cost to operate. The wholesale rates in most US markets have settled into values that provide profits for most operating nuclearpower plants but are too low to support the added cost of capital recovery for new nuclear construction. There is a strong geographic dependence on the wholesale rate, with some markets currently able to support new nuclear construction. However, there is also a strong geographic dependence on pronuclear public opinion; the areas where power prices are high tend to have unfavorable views on the construction of new nuclearpower plants. The use of government-backed incentives, such as subsidies, can help provide a margin to help justify construction projects that otherwise may not seem viable. Similarly, low interest rates for the project will also add a positive margin to the economic

Although the international community is rightly concerned about the dangers of nuclear weapons proliferation in the former Soviet Union, the greatest nuclear threat emanating from that region has nothing to do with weapons. It stems, rather, from the deteriorating state of nuclear safety at the civilian nuclearpower plants in Kazakhstan, Lithuanian, Russia, and Ukraine. This situation, caused by a combination of economic, political, and social factors, threatens to undermine the future of nuclearpower in the former Soviet Union at the very time when the proponents of nuclear energy appear to be staging a remarkable comeback.

The objective of this survey was to select an appropriate technology for in situ decontamination of equipment interiors as part of the decommissioning of U.S. Department of Energy nuclearfacilities. This selection depends on knowledge of existing chemical decontamination methods. This report provides an up-to-date review of chemical decontamination methods. According to available information, aqueous systems are probably the most universally used method for decontaminating and cleaning metal surfaces. We have subdivided the technologies, on the basis of the types of chemical solvents, into acid, alkaline permanganate, highly oxidizing, peroxide, and miscellaneous systems. Two miscellaneous chemical decontamination methods (electrochemical processes and foam and gel systems) are also described. A concise technical description of various processes is given, and the report also outlines technical considerations in the choice of technologies, including decontamination effectiveness, waste handing, fields of application, and the advantages and limitations in application. On the basis of this survey, six processes were identified for further evaluation. 144 refs., 2 tabs.

The removal of volatile radionuclides generated during used nuclear fuel reprocessing in the US is almost certain to be necessary for the licensing of a reprocessing facility in the US. Various control technologies have been developed, tested, or used over the past 50 years for control of volatile radionuclide emissions from used fuel reprocessing plants. The US DOE has sponsored, since 2009, an Off-gas Sigma Team to perform research and development focused on the most pressing volatile radionuclide control and immobilization problems. In this paper, we focus on the control requirements and methodologies for 85Kr and 129I. Numerous candidate technologies have been studied and developed at laboratory and pilot-plant scales in an effort to meet the need for high iodine control efficiency and to advance alternatives to cryogenic separations for krypton control. Several of these show promising results. Iodine decontamination factors as high as 105, iodine loading capacities, and other adsorption parameters including adsorption rates have been demonstrated under some conditions for both silver zeolite (AgZ) and Ag-functionalized aerogel. Sorbents, including an engineered form of AgZ and selected metal organic framework materials (MOFs), have been successfully demonstrated to capture Kr and Xe without the need for separations at cryogenic temperatures.

A thermal barrier for use in a nuclear reactor facility is disclosed herein. Generally, the thermal barrier comprises a flexible, heat-resistant web mounted over the annular space between the reactor vessel and the guard vessel in order to prevent convection currents generated in the nitrogen atmosphere in this space from entering the relatively cooler atmosphere of the reactor cavity which surrounds these vessels. Preferably, the flexible web includes a blanket of heat-insulating material formed from fibers of a refractory material, such as alumina and silica, sandwiched between a heat-resistant, metallic cloth made from stainless steel wire. In use, the web is mounted between the upper edges of the guard vessel and the flange of a sealing ring which surrounds the reactor vessel with a sufficient enough slack to avoid being pulled taut as a result of thermal differential expansion between the two vessels. The flexible web replaces the rigid and relatively complicated structures employed in the prior art for insulating the reactor cavity from the convection currents generated between the reactor vessel and the guard vessel.

The following list indicates percentage ownership of commercial nuclearpower plants by utility companies as of June 1, 1987. The list includes all plants licensed to operate, under construction, docked for NRC safety and environmental reviews, or under NRC antitrust review. It does not include those plants announced but not yet under review or those plants formally canceled. In many cases, ownership may be in the process of changing as a result of altered financial conditions, changed power needs, and other reasons. However, this list reflects only those ownership percentages of which the NRC has been formally notified. Part I lists plants alphabetically with their associated applicants/licensees and percentage ownership. Part II lists applicants/licensees alphabetically with their associated plants and percentage ownership. Part I also indicates which plants have received operating licenses (OL's). Footnotes for both parts appear at the end of this document.

7-94 June 1994 DOE STANDARD GUIDELINE TO GOOD PRACTICES FOR MAINTENANCE FACILITIES, EQUIPMENT, AND TOOLS AT DOE NUCLEARFACILITIES U.S. Department of Energy AREA MNTY Washington, D.C. 20585 DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. This document has been reproduced directly from the best available copy. Available to DOE and DOE contractors from the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, P.O. Box 62, Oak Ridge, TN 37831; (615) 576-8401. Available

Administration | (NNSA) Groundbreaking at National Ignition Facility Groundbreaking at National Ignition Facility Livermore, CA Secretary Pena participates in the ground breaking ceremony for the National Ignition Facility, a centerpiece of the stockpile stewardship program, at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

KEPCO has successfully implemented the construction and operation of nuclearpower plants since the early 1970s, and will continue to build safer and more efficient nuclear plants in the future in accordance with the nuclearpower development plan previously established. KEPCO will also make every effort to enhance nuclear safety and obtain the public`s acceptance for nuclearpower. We are, however, facing the same difficulties, as United States and other countries have, in strengthened regulatory requirements, public acceptance, radwaste disposal, and acquisition of new plant sites despite an active nuclearpower program. Story of Ted Turner, CNN; {open_quotes}It ain`t as easy as it looks.{close_quotes} Yes! It is difficult. But we will cope with these issues so that we can promote the nuclearpower development and continue to supply a highly economical and clean energy to the world. In this regard, it is my sincere wish that each organization participating in the nuclear industry, especially Korea and United States strengthen their ties and help each other so that we together can successfully accomplish our goals.

In support of technology development to utilize coal for efficient, affordable, and environmentally clean power generation, the Power Systems Development Facility (PSDF), located in Wilsonville, Alabama, routinely demonstrates gasification technologies using various types of coals. The PSDF is an engineering scale demonstration of key features of advanced coal-fired power systems, including a KBR Transport Gasifier, a hot gas particulate control device, advanced syngas cleanup systems, and high-pressure solids handling systems. This report summarizes the results of TC25, the second test campaign using a high moisture lignite coal from the Red Hills mine in Mississippi as the feedstock in the modified Transport Gasifier configuration. TC25 was conducted from July 4, 2008, through August 12, 2008. During TC25, the PSDF gasification process operated for 742 hours in air-blown gasification mode. Operation with the Mississippi lignite was significantly improved in TC25 compared to the previous test (TC22) with this fuel due to the addition of a fluid bed coal dryer. The new dryer was installed to dry coals with very high moisture contents for reliable coal feeding. The TC25 test campaign demonstrated steady operation with high carbon conversion and optimized performance of the coal handling and gasifier systems. Operation during TC25 provided the opportunity for further testing of instrumentation enhancements, hot gas filter materials, and advanced syngas cleanup technologies. The PSDF site was also made available for testing of the National Energy Technology Laboratory's fuel cell module and Media Process Technology's hydrogen selective membrane with syngas from the Transport Gasifier.

In support of technology development to utilize coal for efficient, affordable, and environmentally clean power generation, the Power Systems Development Facility (PSDF), located in Wilsonville, Alabama, routinely demonstrates gasification technologies using various types of coals. The PSDF is an engineering scale demonstration of key features of advanced coal-fired power systems, including a KBR Transport Gasifier, a hot gas particulate control device, advanced syngas cleanup systems, and high-pressure solids handling systems. This report summarizes the results of TC24, the first test campaign using a bituminous coal as the feedstock in the modified Transport Gasifier configuration. TC24 was conducted from February 16, 2008, through March 19, 2008. The PSDF gasification process operated for about 230 hours in air-blown gasification mode with about 225 tons of Utah bituminous coal feed. Operational challenges in gasifier operation were related to particle agglomeration, a large percentage of oversize coal particles, low overall gasifier solids collection efficiency, and refractory degradation in the gasifier solids collection unit. The carbon conversion and syngas heating values varied widely, with low values obtained during periods of low gasifier operating temperature. Despite the operating difficulties, several periods of steady state operation were achieved, which provided useful data for future testing. TC24 operation afforded the opportunity for testing of various types of technologies, including dry coal feeding with a developmental feeder, the Pressure Decoupled Advanced Coal (PDAC) feeder; evaluating a new hot gas filter element media configuration; and enhancing syngas cleanup with water-gas shift catalysts. During TC24, the PSDF site was also made available for testing of the National Energy Technology Laboratory's fuel cell module and Media Process Technology's hydrogen selective membrane.

Apparatus for nuclear transmutation and power production using an intense accelerator-generated thermal neutron flux. High thermal neutron fluxes generated from the action of a high power proton accelerator on a spallation target allows the efficient burn-up of higher actinide nuclear waste by a two-step process. Additionally, rapid burn-up of fission product waste for nuclides having small thermal neutron cross sections, and the practicality of small material inventories while achieving significant throughput derive from employment of such high fluxes. Several nuclear technology problems are addressed including 1. nuclear energy production without a waste stream requiring storage on a geological timescale, 2. the burn-up of defense and commercial nuclear waste, and 3. the production of defense nuclear material. The apparatus includes an accelerator, a target for neutron production surrounded by a blanket region for transmutation, a turbine for electric power production, and a chemical processing facility. In all applications, the accelerator power may be generated internally from fission and the waste produced thereby is transmuted internally so that waste management might not be required beyond the human lifespan.

Apparatus for nuclear transmutation and power production using an intense accelerator-generated thermal neutron flux. High thermal neutron fluxes generated from the action of a high power proton accelerator on a spallation target allows the efficient burn-up of higher actinide nuclear waste by a two-step process. Additionally, rapid burn-up of fission product waste for nuclides having small thermal neutron cross sections, and the practicality of small material inventories while achieving significant throughput derive from employment of such high fluxes. Several nuclear technology problems are addressed including 1. nuclear energy production without a waste stream requiring storage on a geological timescale, 2. the burn-up of defense and commercial nuclear waste, and 3. the production of defense nuclear material. The apparatus includes an accelerator, a target for neutron production surrounded by a blanket region for transmutation, a turbine for electric power production, and a chemical processing facility. In all applications, the accelerator power may be generated internally from fission and the waste produced thereby is transmuted internally so that waste management might not be required beyond the human lifespan.

Energy Power: Is It Right For Your Facility? Combined Heat and Power: Is It Right For Your Facility? This presentation provides an overview of CHP technologies and how they can be used in industrial manufacturing plants to increase productivity and reduce energy and costs. Combined Heat and Power: Is It Right For Your Facility? (May 14, 2009) (634.74 KB) More Documents & Publications HUD CHP GUIDE #2 - FEASIBILITY SCREENING FOR CHP IN MULTIFAMILY HOUSING, May 2009 New and Emerging

A nuclearpower megaproject carries with it severe business risks. Despite attempts to shift these risks to taxpayers and ratepayers, ultimately there are no guarantees for utility shareholders. Utility management needs to keep some core principles in mind. (author)

The Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB) received a briefing on R&D for the future of nuclearpower. The presentation was given by Mark Peters, Director of Idaho National Laboratory, on June 14, 2016.

A method for predicting operating technological failures in nuclearpower plants which makes it possible to reduce the unloading of the generator unit during the onset and development of an anomalous engineering state of the equipment by detecting a change in state earlier and taking suitable measures. With the circulating water supply loop of a nuclearpower plant as an example, scenarios and algorithms for predicting technological failures in the operation of equipment long before their actual occurrence are discussed.

Economic Growth | Department of Energy Renewing America's NuclearPower Partnership for Energy Security and Economic Growth Renewing America's NuclearPower Partnership for Energy Security and Economic Growth October 8, 2008 - 4:14pm Addthis Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Secretary Bodman Thank you, Jamie, for that kind introduction. And many thanks as well to Secretary Gutierrez, Deputy Secretary Sullivan and the entire Commerce team for convening this important event. As always, it's

We present a method to estimate the nuclear component of the stopping power of ions propagating in dense matter. Three kinds of effective pair potentials are proposed. Results from the warm dense matter regime and the domain of high energy density physics are presented and discussed for proton and helium. The role of ionic temperature is examined. The nuclear stopping power can play a noticeable role in hot dense matter.

Development and Needs | Department of Energy Needs International Working Group Meeting Focuses on NuclearPower Infrastructure Development and Needs June 2, 2010 - 12:02pm Addthis VIENNA, Austria - The multi-nation Infrastructure Development Working Group (IDWG) of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) held its sixth meeting on May 26-27, 2010, in Vienna, Austria. The two-day event included workshops on nuclear energy regulatory agency engagement and the infrastructure needs for

4 Updates available at: www.energy.gov/ne NEXT UPDATE - October 2014 Page 1 News Updates ď‚« The NRC Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) has ruled that Toshiba's participation in Nuclear Innovation North America's South Texas Project does not violate federal rules on foreign ownership, control or domination of nuclear reactors. NRC staff had previously stated that despite having only a 10% ownership stake in the project, Toshiba's level of financial support constituted an impermissible

Nuclear islands, which are integrated power production sites, could effectively sequester and safeguard the US stockpile of plutonium. A nuclear island, an evolution of the integral fast reactor, utilizes all the Transuranics (Pu plus minor actinides) produced in power production, and it eliminates all spent fuel shipments to and from the site. This latter attribute requires that fuel reprocessing occur on each site and that fast reactors be built on-site to utilize the TRU. All commercial spent fuel shipments could be eliminated by converting all LWR nuclearpower sites to nuclear islands. Existing LWR sites have the added advantage ofmoreÂ Â» already possessing a license to produce nuclearpower. Each could contribute to an increase in the nuclearpower production by adding one or more fast reactors. Both the TRU and the depleted uranium obtained in reprocessing would be used on-site for fast fuel manufacture. Only fission products would be shipped to a repository for storage. The nuclear island concept could be used to alleviate the strain of LWR plant sites currently approaching or exceeding their spent fuel pool storage capacity. Fast reactor breeding ratio could be designed to convert existing sites to all fast reactors, or keep the majority thermal.Â«Â less

The application of a Safeguards-by-Design (SBD) process for new nuclearfacilities has the potential to minimize proliferation and security risks as the use of nuclear energy expands worldwide. This paper defines a generic SBD process and its incorporation from early design phases into existing design / construction processes and develops a framework that can guide its institutionalization. SBD could be a basis for a new international norm and standard process for nuclearfacility design. This work is part of the U.S. DOE’s Next Generation Safeguards Initiative (NGSI), and is jointly sponsored by the Offices of Non-proliferation and Nuclear Energy.

Administration | (NNSA) Facility Operations and User Support This sub-program provides both necessary physical facility and operational support for reliable, cross-lab production computing and storage environments as well as a suite of user services for effective use of ASC tri-lab computing resources. The scope of the facility operations includes planning, integration and deployment, continuing product support, software license and maintenance fees, procurement of operational equipment and

Telecommunications providers rely on backup power to maintain a constant power supply, to prevent power outages, and to ensure the operability of cell towers, equipment, and networks. The backup power supply that best meets these objectives is fuel cell technology.

Telecommunications providers rely on backup power to maintain a constant power supply, to prevent power outages, and to ensure the operability of cell towers, equipment, and networks. The backup power supply that best meets these objectives is fuel cell technology.

Issues related to back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle continue to be difficult for the commercial nuclearpower industry and for the decision makers at the national and international level. In the US, the 1982 NWPA required DOE to develop geological repositories for SNF and HLW but in spite of extensive site characterization efforts and over ten billion dollars spent, a repository opening is nowhere in sight. There has been constant litigation against the DOE by the nuclear utilities for breach of the 'standard contract' they signed with the DOE under the NWPA. The SNF inventory continues to rise both in the US and globally and the nuclear industry has turned to dry storage facilities at reactor locations. In US, the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future issued its report in January 2012 and among other items, it recommends a new, consent-based approach to siting of facilities, prompt efforts to develop one or more geologic disposal facilities, and prompt efforts to develop one or more consolidated storage facilities. In addition, the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accident had a severe impact on the future growth of nuclearpower. The nuclear industry is focusing on mitigation strategies for beyond design basis events and in the US, the industry is in the process of implementing the recommendations from NRC's Near Term Task Force. (authors)

This is part 2 of a bibliography on nuclearfacility decommissioning and site remedial action. This report contains indexes on the following: authors, corporate affiliation, title words, publication description, geographic location, subject category, and key word.

Agreements between the United States (U.S.) and the Russian Federation (R.F.) require the down-blending of highly enriched uranium (HEU) from dismantled Russian Federation nuclear weapons. The Blend Down Monitoring System (BDMS) was jointly developed by the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to continuously monitor the enrichments and flow rates in the HEU blending operations at the R.F. facilities. A significant requirement of the implementation of the BDMS equipment in R.F. facilities concerned the certification of the BDMS equipment for use in a Russian nuclearfacility. This paper discusses the certification of the BDMS for installation in R.F. facilities, and summarizes the lessons learned from the process that can be applied to the installation of other U.S. equipment in Russian nuclearfacilities.

Cooperative Agreement DE-FC07-06ID14788 was executed between the U.S. Department of Energy, Electric Transportation Applications, and Idaho National Laboratory to investigate the economics of producing hydrogen by electrolysis using electricity generated by nuclearpower. The work under this agreement is divided into the following four tasks: Task 1 â€“ Produce Data and Analyses Task 2 â€“ Economic Analysis of Large-Scale Alkaline Electrolysis Task 3 â€“ Commercial-Scale Hydrogen Production Task 4 â€“ Disseminate Data and Analyses. Reports exist on the prospect that utility companies may benefit from having the option to produce electricity or produce hydrogen, depending on market conditions for both. This study advances that discussion in the affirmative by providing data and suggesting further areas of study. While some reports have identified issues related to licensing hydrogen plants with nuclear plants, this study provides more specifics and could be a resource guide for further study and clarifications. At the same time, this report identifies other area of risks and uncertainties associated with hydrogen production on this scale. Suggestions for further study in some of these topics, including water availability, are included in the report. The goals and objectives of the original project description have been met. Lack of industry design for proton exchange membrane electrolysis hydrogen production facilities of this magnitude was a roadblock for a significant period. However, recent design breakthroughs have made costing this facility much more accurate. In fact, the new design information on proton exchange membrane electrolyzers scaled to the 1 kg of hydrogen per second electrolyzer reduced the model costs from $500 to $100 million. Task 1 was delayed when the original electrolyzer failed at the end of its economic life. However, additional valuable information was obtained when the new electrolyzer was installed. Products developed during this study

Far Eastern countries such as China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan show rapid energy demand growth due to expanding economic development. Each of these countries is considering nuclear energy as an ultimate energy option and is implementing the nuclearpower program that reflects its own national circumstances. Even though the degrees of energy demand growth are different from one another depending on the level of industrialization, the energy demand growth is higher than in other regions of the world. And various concerns about nuclear safety and economy are expressed due to the changing sociopolitical environment, but the governments' will to support the nuclear program remains very strong. With such backgrounds, it is the common position in this region that the nuclearpower system shall be maintained in the optimum balance with other energy systems, and the best efforts shall be devoted to enhancement of nuclear safety. In Korea, the nuclear energy policy debates with environmentalists, economists, and even with some radical students are becoming noticeable. In Japan, large-scale antinuclear demonstrations were held often this year with the participation of all members of Japanese society. In Taiwan, plans for the construction of nuclearpower plants and the expansion of existing radwaste disposal facilities are facing objections from the environmentalists. It can be said that the antinuclear movement in the Far East is somewhat different form European countries and the Untied States in that most of the people in this region admit the importance of nuclear energy. It is quite evident that nuclear energy is an indispensable energy option for the world's future. The ultimate goal of world energy policy is the establishment of sustainable energy systems.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a model, a general frame to be utilized in assisting newcomer countries to start a nuclearpower program. A nuclearpower plant project involves technical complexity and high level of investment with long duration. Considering newcomers are mostly developing countries that lack the national infrastructure, key infrastructure issues may constitute the principal constraints to the development of a nuclearpower program. In this regard, it is important to provide guidance and support to set up an appropriate infrastructure when we help them with the first launch of nuclearpower plant project. To date, as a sole nuclearpower generation company, KHNP has been invited many times to mentor or assist newcomer countries for their successful start of a nuclearpower program since Republic of Korea is an exemplary case of a developing country which began nuclearpower program from scratch and became a major world nuclear energy country in a short period of time. Through hosting events organized to aid newcomer countries' initiation of nuclearpower projects, difficulties have been recognized. Each event had different contents according to circumstances because they were held as an unstructured and one-off thing. By developing a general model, we can give more adequate and effective aid in an efficient way. In this paper, we created a model to identify necessary infrastructures at the right stage, which was mainly based on a case of Korea. Taking into account the assistance we received from foreign companies and our own efforts for technological self-reliance, we have developed a general time table and specified activities required to do at each stage. From a donor's perspective, we explored various ways to help nuclear infrastructure development including technical support programs, training courses, and participating in IAEA technical cooperation programs on a regular basis. If we further develop the model, the next task would be to

Proposed multimegawatt nuclearpower systems which operate at high temperatures, high levels of stress, and in hostile environments, including corrosive working fluids, have created interest in the use of ceramic composites as structural materials. This report assesses the applicability of several ceramic composites in both Brayton and Rankine cycle power systems. This assessment considers an equilibrium thermodynamic analysis and also a nonequilibrium assessment. (FI)

This annual report highlights the activities of the Institute of NuclearPower Operations. The topics of the report include the president and chairmen`s joint message, overview of programs serving as the foundation for most of its activities, performance indicators for the US nuclear utility industry, and INPO`s 1993 financial reports and rosters. INPO has four technical cornerstone programs that serve as the foundation for most of its activities. (1) Evaluations of nuclearpower plants operated by member utilities are conducted on a regularly scheduled basis. (2) INPO supports its member utilities in their work to achieve and maintain accreditation of training programs. (3) Events analysis programs identify and communicate lessons learned from plant events so utilities can take action to prevent similar events at their plants. (4) INPO helps members improve in nuclear operations areas through assistance programs and other activities that continually evolve to meet the changing needs of the nuclear industry.

This report is the second in a series of guidelines on international safeguards requirements and practices, prepared expressly for the designers of nuclearfacilities. The first document in this series is the description of generic international nuclear safeguards requirements pertaining to all types of facilities. These requirements should be understood and considered at the earliest stages of facility design as part of a new process called â€śSafeguards-by-Design.â€ť This will help eliminate the costly retrofit of facilities that has occurred in the past to accommodate nuclear safeguards verification activities. The following summarizes the requirements for international nuclear safeguards implementation at enrichment plants, prepared under the Safeguards by Design project, and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of NA-243. The purpose of this is to provide designers of nuclearfacilities around the world with a simplified set of design requirements and the most common practices for meeting them. The foundation for these requirements is the international safeguards agreement between the country and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), pursuant to the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Relevant safeguards requirements are also cited from the Safeguards Criteria for inspecting enrichment plants, found in the IAEA Safeguards Manual, Part SMC-8. IAEA definitions and terms are based on the IAEA Safeguards Glossary, published in 2002. The most current specification for safeguards measurement accuracy is found in the IAEA document STR-327, â€śInternational Target Values 2000 for Measurement Uncertainties in Safeguarding Nuclear Materials,â€ť published in 2001. For this guide to be easier for the designer to use, the requirements have been restated in plainer language per expert interpretation using the source documents noted. The safeguards agreement is fundamentally a

Cincinnati â€“ The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today issued a Draft Request for Proposal (DRFP) for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Licensed Facilities procurement. The NRC Licensed Facilities procurement is one of the four procurements that resulted from the Idaho Site Office of Environmental Management Post FY 2015 Acquisition Planning.

Systems passively eliminate noncondensable gasses from facilities susceptible to damage from combustion of built-up noncondensable gasses, such as H2 and O2 in nuclearpower plants, without the need for external power and/or moving parts. Systems include catalyst plates installed in a lower header of the Passive Containment Cooling System (PCCS) condenser, a catalyst packing member, and/or a catalyst coating on an interior surface of a condensation tube of the PCCS condenser or an annular outlet of the PCCS condenser. Structures may have surfaces or hydrophobic elements that inhibit water formation and promote contact with the noncondensable gas. Noncondensable gasses in a nuclearpower plant are eliminated by installing and using the systems individually or in combination. An operating pressure of the PCCS condenser may be increased to facilitate recombination of noncondensable gasses therein.

The Department of Energy (DOE) requires that fire hazard analyses (FHAs) be conducted for all nuclear and new facilities, with results for the latter incorporated into Title I design. For those facilities requiring safety analysis documentation, the FHA shall be documented in the Safety Analysis Reports (SARs). This paper provides an overview of the methodologies and codes being used to support FHAs at Sandia facilities, with emphasis on SARs.

The report discusses the actual implementation of the best alternative in selling electrical power generated by an existing waste-to-energy facility, the Metro-Dade County Resources Recovery Plant. After the plant processes and extracts various products out of the municipal solid waste, it burns it to produce electrical power. The price for buying power to satisfy the internal needs of our Resources Recovery Facility (RRF) is substantially higher than the power price for selling electricity to any other entity. Therefore, without any further analysis, it was decided to first satisfy those internal needs and then export the excess power. Various alternatives were thoroughly explored as to what to do with the excess power. Selling power to the power utilities or utilizing the power in other facilities were the primary options.

Pacific Northwest Laboratory developed a method for forecasting potential locations and startup sequences of nuclearpower plants that will be required in the future but have not yet been specifically identified by electric utilities. Use of the method results in numerical ratings for potential nuclearpower plant sites located in each of the 10 federal energy regions. The rating for each potential site is obtained from numerical factors assigned to each of 5 primary siting characteristics: (1) cooling water availability, (2) site land area, (3) power transmission land area, (4) proximity to metropolitan areas, and (5) utility plans for the site. The sequence of plant startups in each federal energy region is obtained by use of the numerical ratings and the forecasts of generic nuclearpower plant startups obtained from the EIA Middle Case electricity forecast. Sites are assigned to generic plants in chronological order according to startup date.

The scientific aims of this project have been the evaluation and dissemination of key nuclear reactions in nuclear astrophysics, with a focus on ones to be studied at new radioactive beam facilities worldwide. These aims were maintained during the entire funding period from 2003 - 2006. In the following, a summary of the reactions evaluated during this period is provided. Year 1 (2003-04): {sup 21}Na(p,{gamma}){sup 22}Mg and {sup 18}Ne({alpha},p){sup 21}Na - The importance of the {sup 21}Na(p,{gamma}){sup 22}Mg and the {sup 18}Ne({alpha},p){sup 21}Na reactions in models of exploding stars has been well documented: the first is connected to the production of the radioisotope {sup 22}Na in nova nucleosynthesis, while the second is a key bridge between the Hot-CNO cycles and the rp-process in X-ray bursts. By the end of Summer 2004, our group had updated these reaction rates to include all published data up to September 2004, and cast the reaction rates into standard analytical and tabular formats with the assistance of Oak Ridge National Laboratory's computational infrastructure for reaction rates. Since September 2004, ongoing experiments on these two reactions have been completed, with our group's participation in both: {sup 21}Na(p,{gamma}){sup 22}Mg at the TRIUMF-ISAC laboratory (DRAGON collaboration), and 18Ne({alpha},p){sup 21}Na at Argonne National Laboratory (collaboration with Ernst Rehm, Argonne). The data from the former was subsequently published and included in our evaluation. Publication from the latter still awaits independent confirmation of the experimental results. Year 2 (2004-05): The 25Al(p,{gamma}){sup 26}Si and {sup 13}N(p,{gamma})14O reactions - For Year 2, we worked on evaluations of the {sup 25}Al(p,{gamma}){sup 26}Si and {sup 13}N(p,{gamma}){sup 14}O reactions, in accordance with our proposed deliverables and following similar standard procedures to those used in Year 1. The {sup 25}Al(p,{gamma}){sup 26}Si reaction is a key uncertainty in

The Office of Nuclear Safety is performing a series of site visits to provide roll-out training and assistance to Program and Site Offices and their contractors on effective implementation of the new revision to DOE Standard 3009-2014, Preparation of Nonreactor NuclearFacility Documented Safety Analysis.

A laser using heat and thermionic electrical output from a nuclear reactor in which heat generated by the reactor is utilized to vaporize metal lasants. Voltage output from a thermionic converter is used to create an electric discharge in the metal vapors. In one embodiment the laser vapors are excited by a discharge only. The second embodiment utilizes fission coatings on the inside of heat pipes, in which fission fragment excitation and ionization is employed in addition to a discharge. Both embodiments provide efficient laser systems that are capable of many years of operation without servicing. Metal excimers are the most efficient electronic transition lasers known with output in the visible wavelengths. Use of metal excimers, in addition to their efficiency and wavelengths, allows utilization of reactor waste heat which plagues many nuclear pumped laser concepts.

A laser uses heat and thermionic electrical output from a nuclear reactor in which heat generated by the reactor is utilized to vaporize metal lasants. Voltage output from a thermionic converter is used to create an electric discharge in the metal vapors. In one embodiment the laser vapors are excited by a discharge only. The second embodiment utilizes fission coatings on the inside of heat pipes, in which fission fragment excitation and ionization is employed in addition to a discharge. Both embodiments provide efficient laser systems that are capable of many years of operation without servicing. Metal excimers are the most efficient electronic transition lasers known with output in the visible wavelengths. Use of metal excimers, in addition to their efficiency and wavelengths, allows utilization of reactor waste heat which plagues many nuclear pumped laser concepts.

Releases of radioactive materials in airborne and liquid effluents from commercial light water reactors during 1988 have been compiled and reported. Data on solid waste shipments as well as selected operating information have been included. This report supplements earlier annual reports issued by the former Atomic Energy Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The 1988 release data are summarized in tabular form. Data covering specific radionuclides are summarized. 16 tabs.

Releases of radioactive materials in airborne and liquid effluents from commercial light water reactors during 1987 have been compiled and reported. Data on solid waste shipments as well as selected operating information have been included. This report supplements earlier annual reports issued by the former Atomic Energy Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The 1987 release data are summarized in tabular form. Data covering specific radionuclides are summarized. 16 tabs.

Releases of radioactive materials in airborne and liquid effluents from commercial light water reactors during 1979 have been compiled and reported. Data on solid waste shipments as well as selected operating information have been included. This report supplements earlier annual reports issued by the former Atomic Energy Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The 1979 release data are compared with previous year's releases in tabular form. Data covering specific radionuclides are summarized.

This document outlines specific training requirements in the topical areas of Material Control and Accounting (MC&A) and Physical Protection(PP) which are to be used as technical input for designing a mock Integrated Security Facility (ISF) at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). The overall project objective for these requirements is to enhance the ability to deliver training on Material Protection Control and Accounting (MC&A) concepts regarding hazardous material such as irradiated materials with respect to bulk processing facilities.

Design | Department of Energy Study Builds Knowledge of Nuclear Waste Glass, Provides Insight to Facility Design Study Builds Knowledge of Nuclear Waste Glass, Provides Insight to Facility Design April 14, 2016 - 12:40pm Addthis Simulated low-activity waste is cooled in a prototypic steel container as part of ORP-sponsored testing at a Columbia, Md., facility in September 2003. Simulated low-activity waste is cooled in a prototypic steel container as part of ORP-sponsored testing at a

Executive Summary The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) implements nuclear safeguards and verifies countries are compliant with their international nuclear safeguards agreements. One of the key provisions in the safeguards agreement is the requirement that the country provide nuclearfacility design and operating information to the IAEA relevant to safeguarding the facility, and at a very early stage. , This provides the opportunity for the IAEA to verify the safeguards-relevant features of the facility and to periodically ensure that those features have not changed. The national authorities (State System of Accounting for and Control of Nuclear Material - SSAC) provide the design information for all facilities within a country to the IAEA. The design information is conveyed using the IAEA’s Design Information Questionnaire (DIQ) and specifies: (1) Identification of the facility’s general character, purpose, capacity, and location; (2) Description of the facility’s layout and nuclear material form, location, and flow; (3) Description of the features relating to nuclear material accounting, containment, and surveillance; and (4) Description of existing and proposed procedures for nuclear material accounting and control, with identification of nuclear material balance areas. The DIQ is updated as required by written addendum. IAEA safeguards inspectors examine and verify this information in design information examination (DIE) and design information verification (DIV) activities to confirm that the facility has been constructed or is being operated as declared by the facility operator and national authorities, and to develop a suitable safeguards approach. Under the Next Generation Safeguards Initiative (NGSI), the National Nuclear Security Administrations (NNSA) Office of Non-Proliferation and International Security identified the need for more effective and efficient verification of design information by the IAEA for improving international safeguards in

The goal of this paper is the analysis of the technological transfer role in the nuclear field, with particular emphasis on nuclear reactors domain. The presentation is sustained by historical arguments. In this frame, it is very important to start with the achievements of the first nuclear systems, for instant those with natural uranium as fuel and heavy water as moderator, following in time through the history until the New Generation NuclearPower Reactors.Starting with 1940, the accelerated development of the industry has implied the increase of the global demand for energy. In this respect, the nuclear energy could play an important role, being essentially an unlimited source of energy. However, the nuclear option faces the challenges of increasingly demanding safety requirements, economic competitiveness and public acceptance. Worldwide, a significant amount of experience has been accumulated during development, licensing, construction, and operation of nuclearpower reactors. The experience gained is a strong basis for further improvements. Actually, the nuclear programs of many countries are addressing the development of advanced reactors, which are intended to have better economics, higher reliability, improved safety, and proliferation-resistant characteristics in order to overcome the current concerns about nuclearpower. Advanced reactors, now under development, may help to meet the demand for energy power of both developed and developing countries as well as for district heating, desalination and for process heat.The paper gives historical examples that illustrate the steps pursued from first research nuclear reactors to present advanced power reactors. Emphasis was laid upon the fact that the progress is due to the great discoveries of the nuclear scientists using the technological transfer.

Security National Security Plutonium Shot Safe. Secure. Reliable. Z is crucial to Sandia's mission to assure the reliability and safety of our nuclear stockpile as it ages - it allows scientists to study materials under conditions similar to those produced by the detonation of a nuclear weapon, and it produces key data used to validate physics models in computer simulations. The detonation of nuclear weapons may affect equipment even at great distances from the explosion, which means

A Workshop on this highly controversial subject, organized by the Energy and Environment Programme of the RIIA, was held on 10th November 1997 at Green College, Oxford. The meeting was attended by some forty people from eight countries, coming from the nuclear and electricity generating industry, governments, research organizations, academic institutions, environmental pressure groups and inter-governmental organizations. In addition, subsequent to this Workshop, there have been a number of smaller, more informal discussions on various aspects of the subject. This paper summarizes the main conclusions arising from the Workshop and from these later discussions.